XV of France – Philippe Sella deciphers Émilien Gailleton: “I like the serenity he exudes”

Saturday evening, the Stade de France had a nice preview of the two versions of Emilien Gailleton. On the right side, there was this second try on the international scene – in a winger position, receiving a marvelous pass at the foot of Thomas Ramos, with a little inside hook as a bonus – and well-felt interventions on the rare ammunition at his disposal, with speed in his bullet handling and precision in transmissions. On the front side, there was all the less visible but equally decisive work of the 21-year-old center: his 12/13 in tackles with an obvious science of placement, his saving scratch and so well executed at the 25^e minute and his efforts to keep the opponents on their feet were all assets in the defensive play of the Blues, put to the test by the offensive Japanese.

A very complete center, capable of finishing as top scorer in the Top 14 in 2022-2023 as well as devoting himself to the dirty work of this game, the native of Croydon has a super power capable of installing him at the center of the French attack: its volume of high-intensity races – with peaks at 35 km/h, excuse me – is close to the peaks of the genre. On long-term actions or in withdrawal or hunting situations, this specificity, the sum of high-level physical abilities and above-average game intelligence, was evident during a 43-minute game. of effective playing time, Saturday evening: “My primary qualities are movement and speed, The Béarnais (1.85 m, 89 kg) was thus presented in our Friday edition. I try to play as much as possible in free spaces. I have always been much lighter than the others but this weight deficit also helped me to be a little faster, to move faster and longer than the opponent, on the pitch. I want to play on that.”

“Everything seems natural about him”

From the stands of the Stade de France, Philippe Sella, “legend of the position in France” as the Palois described him last Friday, appreciated the behavior and contribution of this protégé, met near Armandie, ago a few years: “I think he delivered a good performance, the “Hall of Famer” told us this Sunday. I found him as I know him, with races, movement: he participated a lot in the game by being available and active in all situations. It's not necessarily what is seen the most but it was valuable for the team.” And the international with 111 capes establishes an obvious parallel in his eyes: “ThatIt corresponds to what he is, in fact: Emilien is a humble and hardworking player. He is capable of creating differences with the ball in hand, with his speed and his athleticism, which is not negligible, but above all he puts his potential at the service of the collective. He's not the type to overplay.”

Alongside the more frontal and hard-hitting Yoram Moefana, his reading of the game could also work wonders in the future: “We feel that he takes information in advance, that he is thoughtful in what he does, which means that many of his choices are good. In communication too, it appears that he is a relevant guy, influential. Everything seems natural about him. I find him pleasant to watch and I like the serenity he exudes on a lawn. Coming from Philippe Sella, the compliment is worth gold. He will have even more weight if he resists the visit of the All Blacks to Saint-Denis in a week.