Gaby picked as a future England ace
WASPS forward Gabriel Oghre has been labelled as ‘wonderful’ and tipped as a future full international on a popular rugby union podcast.
The 22-year-old hooker was deployed as an openside flanker against Worcester Warriors last Friday and weighed in with a virtuoso display with three turnovers, 13 tackles, beating six defenders with the ball in hand and scored a crucial try as Wasps came from behind to win 32-17.
His performance earned acclaim from Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones.
When asked for his god or goddess of the week, a regular feature to conclude The Ruck Podcast by Wasps legend Lawrence Dallaglio, Jones pointed to one man.
“It’s simple mate, the ogre,” said Jones. “I thought he was wonderful, he looked like a beast. Gabriel Oghre, it’s clearly a miss-spelling, it’s ogre. I will be following the ogre all the way into the England team and possibly the Lions team in the next few years.”
Head coach Lee Blackett said Oghre was ‘a natural at the openside’ in his post-match comments, pointing to the similar role in which hookers and back rowers play in their game plan.
Speaking ahead of last night’s visit of Sale Sharks to the Ricoh Arena, defence coach Ian Costello discussed the process which led to Oghre’s selection on the openside.
He said: “It’s a really interesting one. In pre-season we talked about adaptability. Sometimes you’ve got to look at a block of games almost like a tour. On a traditional tour, people would have to play out of position, people have to adapt. We had a hunch on, we had a feeling that our instincts told us Gaby would do good job as a seven and I thought he was excellent.”