Payton Telea-Ilalio
American rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Payton Telea-Ilalio (born 17 August 1998) is an American rugby union player, currently playing for the Anthem Carolina in Major League Rugby (MLR). His preferred position is prop.[1]
| Born | 17 August 1998 San Francisco, California, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (256 lb; 18 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early career
Telea-Ilalio is from San Francisco and attended Saint Mary's College of California, where he won the Rudy Scholz award in 2020.[2] He represented the USA U20 side in 2018.[3]
Professional career
Telea-Ilalio signed his first professional contract for the Austin Gilgronis during the 2022 Major League Rugby season, scoring two tries on his debut.[4] After the 'Gilgronis' were suspended, and then withdrew from competition,[5] he joined the American Raptors ahead of the 2023 Super Rugby Americas season.[6] He would return to the MLR ahead of the 2024 season, signing for San Diego Legion.[7] He would remain in San Diego for the 2025 season, before joining Anthem Carolina ahead of the 2026 season.[8]
Telea-Ilalio made his debut for the United States national team in September 2024, debuting against Samoa.[9] He scored his first try against Japan the following September.[10]
