| Sela in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Vilikesa Sela 12 April 2005 [1] Hounslow, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (18 st 4 lb; 256 lb) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Beechen Cliff School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Bath | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vilikesa "Billy" Sela (born 12 April 2005) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop forward for Premiership Rugby club Bath Rugby.
Sela was born in Hounslow, and is one of four children of Fijian descent. His father Ilaitia served in the infantry and the Royal Logistics Corps in the British Army before becoming a petroleum operator for the Ministry of Defence and the family moved to Wiltshire. His father also played rugby union for the Army, including featuring at Twickenham. [3] [4] Sela attended Beechen Cliff School in Bath, Somerset. Having first played rugby at Royal Wootton Bassett, he joined Bath Rugby Academy at 15 years-old. He later attended the University of Bath. [5] [6]
Sela was part of the senior academy intake for Bath Rugby ahead of the 2023–24 season. [7] He featured for the Bath first team in pre-season friendly matches ahead of the 2024–25 season with the Bath coaching staff confirming he was part of their first team plans. [8] He was named amongst the match day substitutes for Bath's Premiership Rugby match on 29 September 2024 against Leicester Tigers, making his senior debut as a second-half replacement. [9] [10] He was named in the Bath starting XV for his European Rugby Champions Cup debut against Benetton Rugby on 15 December 2024. [11]
Sela was a member of the England under-18 side that toured South Africa in both 2022 and 2023. [5] [12]
Sela was part of the England under-20 team that won the 2024 Six Nations Under 20s Championship starting in every round. [6] [13] He also played at the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship however Sela was injured during the tournament and missed the final which England won to become youth world champions. [3] At the end of that year in November 2024, he was called-up to train with the England A squad. [14]
In June 2025, Sela played for England at the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship and scored a try in their last game of the tournament which they lost against Australia to ultimately finish sixth. [15] [16] Later that year in November 2025 he made his first appearance for England A in a defeat against New Zealand. [17] [18]