Émilien Gailleton (born 13 July 2003) is a French

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, who plays as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

club

Section Paloise Section Paloise (), often referred to simply as la Section or Pau (), is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They are participants in the Top 14, France's premier rugby division, and also compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup. The ...

and the France national team.

Early life and youth career

Émilien Gailleton was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, England, to a French father and a British mother. He moved with his family to

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

, Lot, at the age of three. He began playing rugby in 2008 with

Cahors Rugby Cahors Rugby are a French rugby union club. They currently compete in the Fédérale 1 competition, the third division of rugby in France. The club was established in 1908. They play at Stade Lucien Desprats, in Cahors. They were champions of t ...

, before joining the

SU Agen Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, ...

academy in 2017.

Club career

SU Agen

Gailleton made his professional debut for

on 15 October 2021, at the age of 18, in a match against Rugby Club Vannes during the

2021–22 Rugby Pro D2 season The 2021–22 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, below the Top 14, for the 2021–22 season. It will run alongside the 2021–22 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rug ...

Section Paloise

In December 2021, Gailleton signed with

, joining them for the

2022–23 Top 14 season The 2022–23 Top 14 is the 124th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Format The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at ho ...

. Despite interest from

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two t ...

and

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successfu ...

, he chose Pau, partly due to the opportunity to work again with

Sébastien Piqueronies Sébastien Piqueronies (born in 1978) is a French rugby union player and coach. He is currently the head coach of Top 14 club Section Paloise, Pau. Federal coach, he became the manager of the France national under-20 rugby union team in 2018. H ...

, whom he had known during his time at the ''Centre national du rugby'' in

Marcoussis Marcoussis () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Marcoussis is the location of the CNR (National Centre of Rugby) where the France national rugby u ...

with the French youth teams. During his first season in the

, Gailleton scored 14 tries in 24 matches, finishing as the league’s top try-scorer. His performance earned him a nomination for the ''Oscars Midi Olympique'' in both the ''Espoir'' and ''Oscar d'Or'' categories and inclusion in the league's team of the season. In the

2023–24 Top 14 season The 2023–24 Top 14 competition is the 125th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Format The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice ...

, Gailleton continued to develop as a player, evolving into a more well-rounded player although he faced stiff competition from other emerging talents. This apparent slowdown in his progression led to increased competition from emerging young talents in the France national team. Nevertheless, Gailleton seized upcoming opportunities during the end-of-season international tours. He concluded the season with eighteen line breaks in twenty-four Top 14 matches. In the

2024–25 Top 14 season The 2024–25 Top 14 competition is the 126th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Format The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, ...

, Gailleton solidified his role as a central figure for Section Paloise, demonstrating his development into a complete player. He expanded his tactical repertoire, showcasing his ability to create plays, structure the defense, and regain offensive efficiency.

International career

France U20

Gailleton was selected for the France U20 team for the

2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 14th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all the matches were played at Cardiff Arms Park, Car ...

at just 17. He played in four matches, starting in three. In 2022, he captained the team during the

Six Nations Under 20s Championship The Six Nations Under 20s Championship is an international rugby union tournament. It is the under-20s equivalent of the Six Nations Championship. Originally the tournament was in an under-21 format but changed to under-20s in 2008. England ...

, scoring a try against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He also played in the ''U20 Six Nations Summer Series'', adding further international experience.

France senior team

On 30 October 2022, Gailleton was first called by

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later on i ...

to the France senior team for the Autumn internationals. Gailleton did not play. In 2023, he was included in the extended squad for the

2023 Six Nations Championship The men's 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy ...

but was later released to rejoin the U20s team. He made his senior debut on 5 August 2023 in a test match against

International tries

Personal life

Gailleton is bilingual, speaking both English and French fluently. His language skills have been useful in international competitions, especially when captaining the France U20 team.

Honours

;

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 1x

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

; Individual * 1× Top 14 leading try-scorer:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(14 tries) * 1× Top 14 team of the season:

* 1× Nuit du rugby Breakthrough Player of the Season:

References

External links

France profile
at FFR
Section Paloise
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gailleton, Émilien 2003 births Sportspeople from Cahors Living people French rugby union players Rugby union centres SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players Section Paloise players Rugby union players from Occitania (administrative region) People from Croydon Rugby union players from the London Borough of Croydon French people of English descent France international rugby union players 21st-century French sportsmen