Elliott Obatoyinbo (born 9 October 1998) is an English professional rugby union player, who currently plays as a back for Premiership Rugby side Newcastle Falcons.

Early life

Obatoyinbo was born to an English mother and a Nigerian father, Iby, a founding member of the invitational rugby sevens team Racing Club Academy. He has a younger brother named Harrison, who plays rugby for Top 14 club Toulon in France. As a child, Obatoyinbo attended

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

in Lancashire, before switching to

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. While at Harrow, he played rugby under the tutelage of the former Northampton Saints and London Irish centre and retired Scotland international,

Joe Ansbro Joe Ansbro (Born Glasgow, 29 October 1985) is a former Scottish international professional rugby union player. He is the first player of African origin to represent Scotland at test level in history. His favoured position is centre. He most rece ...

, who is also of African descent. His teammates at the school included fellow future

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

academy graduates

Andy Christie Andrew Chidozie Robert Onyeama-Christie (born 22 March 1999) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Gallagher Premiership club Saracens. Born in England, he represents Scotland at international level after qualifying on ...

Sean Reffell Sean Reffell (born 4 November 1998) is an English rugby union player who plays as a flanker for United Rugby Championship side Ulster. Rugby career Reffell came through the academy of Saracens and made his club debut in the Anglo-Welsh Cup ag ...

and Manu Vunipola. Obatoyinbo has represented England at age-grade level, playing for the U18 and U20 teams.

Rugby career

Obatoyinbo was recruited into the

youth system in 2016. As part of his early rugby development, he spent the summer of 2018 in New Zealand, playing with the academy of National Provincial Championship side Wellington Lions. Shortly after his 20th birthday, Obatoyinbo made his first-team debut for Saracens on 27 October 2018, in a Premiership Rugby Cup match against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

. During that season, he also spent time out on loan, helping

Ampthill RUFC Ampthill Rugby Club is an English rugby union team based in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. The club runs six senior teams and the full range of junior sides. The first XV play in the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union system. ...

to achieve promotion from National League 1, and featuring for London Scottish in the RFU Championship. In addition, he was part of the Saracens Storm team that won the Premiership Rugby Shield in 2019. The following year, Obatoyinbo signed a new contract with Saracens and graduated into the club's senior squad. On the 12 September 2022 he signed a short-term with Newcastle Falcons.

Personal life

Obatoyinbo is an avid scratch golfer and is a member at

Harpenden Common Golf Club Harpenden Common Golf ClubHCGC
official club website. is a private members' golf club in

. He previously competed at the

Junior Open Championship The Junior Open Championship is a biennial event, to which all golfing nations affiliated to The R&A are invited to enter their best under-16 boy and girl golfers. In 2016, 80 countries were represented in the starting field of 143 competitors co ...

, and said he had considered pursuing a professional golf career, before going full-time with rugby. Obatoyinbo is also a keen artist, with his works based on African art. His inspirations include British-born painter Chris Ofili and Nigerian creator Bruce Onobrakpeya.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obatoyinbo, Elliott 1998 births Living people Black British sportsmen English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent English rugby union players Saracens F.C. players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings