The 21-year-old is making a name for himself in the SUA's third line, with a string of first-team appearances. A childhood dream for Valentin Gayraud, who grew up in Armandie.
"I've been an Agen fan ever since I was a kid - I was born there, my father played there. A kid from Pont-du-Casse, less than seven kilometers from the Lot-et-Garonne prefecture, Valentin Gayraud grew up with the SUA.. "Ever since I was young, I've been going to the matches with my father or friends. I've always hung around the stadium to watch the pros," he continues. As you can imagine, treading the turf of the Alfred-Armandie stadium with the blue and white jersey on his shoulders is like a dream for the third row, who counted six match sheets last season, and has already had seven this year.
My greatest memory is when the players went round the stadium," he says. It gave me the shivers when they were applauded, and I only dreamed of one thing: being on the pitch. I joined the SUA as a teenager. I was also a ball boy. It was great! When you're a kid, you get to see the players up close and hand them the ball. You get stars in your eyes. Is there a player in particular who made an impression on him? Jean Monribot, who played for Agen between 2005 and 2013. A third-row wing trained at the club and thrown into the deep end at a young age, doesn't that remind you of someone?
Like father, like son
Player and supporter of the SUAsupporter, Valentin Gayraud has found himself sharing the dressing room with players he used to applaud from the stands, such as Mathieu Lamoulie: " I used to watch him play and now I play with him. I have great respect for him. The older players talk a lot to the younger ones. They made us feel very welcome.