Gaël Fickou (born 26 March 1994) is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays for French club

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to ...

. His usual position is in the

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 ...

or Wing.

Club career

Fickou made his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

debut on 14 October 2012, scoring the only try of the game in a win 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 ...

. His lithe movement, balance and pace for his size has seen him compared to English rugby legend Jeremy Guscott. According to Toulouse and France teammate,

Maxime Médard Maxime Médard (born 16 November 1986) is a former French rugby union player who plays his club rugby for French club Stade Toulousain in Top 14 and France national rugby union team, France internationally. He can play as both a Rugby union posi ...

, Fickou "is one of the 10 best centres in the world and soon he will be number one. He reminds me of

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the List of dual-code rugby internationals#New ...

: tall, athletic, technical, with a good hand-off and a feel for the game. He has everything." After spending six seasons with Toulouse, he signed with

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

for the start of the 2018–19 season. On 22 March 2021, Fickou would leave Stade Français to join with

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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

rivals

ahead of the 2021–22 season.

International career

He made his French international debut at the age of 18 against Scotland on 16 March 2013 in the RBS 6 Nations. Fickou scored his first try for France against the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during the 2014 Six Nations.

International tries

Honours

International

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* Grand Slam: 2022

Personal life

Born in France, Fickou is one of six children. His dad is originally from Casamance in Senegal and his mother is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

of '' Pied-Noir'' descent.

References

External links

France profile
at FFR *
ERC profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fickou, Gael 1994 births Living people People from La Seyne-sur-Mer Sportspeople from Var (department) French rugby union players French sportspeople of Senegalese descent French sportspeople of Algerian descent Stade Toulousain players Stade Français players Racing 92 players Rugby union centres France international rugby union players