The 20-year-old prop has received a call-up to the 2026 England Six Nations squad
Billy Sela has been named in Steve Borthwick’s England Six Nations squad.
With Will Stuart and Asher Opoku-Fordjour both absent through injury, Borthwick has looked further afield calling up the 20-year-old ahead of this year’s Championship.
The prop has broken into the international scene after earning his stripes at Premiership defending champions Bath and the England U20 team.
Ahead of the Six Nations, here are some things you should know about the newest prop in England’s ranks.
Read more: All of England’s Six Nations fixtures
Ten things you should know about Billy Sela, England’s newest prop
1. Vilikesa ‘Billy’ Sela was born on 12 April 2005 in Hounslow, England. He stands at six foot four inches (192cm) and weighs 18st 4lb (116kg).
2. Sela’s only senior club has been Bath Rugby but he played for Royal Wootton Bassett at amateur level.
3. The prop has played for England U18, U20 and England A.
Billy Sela of England celebrate after scoring a try during the U18 International Series match (Getty Images)
4. He started his rugby career in the back row but switched to tighthead prop around 2023. Bath rugby say he switched because of “his size and dominance”.
5. Sela made his Bath debut in September 2024, becoming number 2956 to play for the men’s club.
Read more: Six Nations fixtures
6. The Rugby Football Union’s performance director Conor O’Shea has described Sela as “an exceptional talent”.
7. He told the BBC about why he is called Billy: “On all the team sheets, I put my name down as Billy.
“But later on, my parents wanted to see my government name because it is a Fijian name and they see more pride in seeing Vilikesa, so I was like OK and asked them to change it to Vilikesa… but everyone still calls me Billy around here.”
8. Sela’s father, Ilaitia, served in the infantry and the Royal Logistics Corps in the British Army. He then became a petroleum operator for the Ministry of Defence.
Read more: All you need to know about Six Nations
9. Former England player Chris Ashton told the BBC on Sela’s England call-up: “Billy Sela is an interesting one. I’ve not seen him train in person yet but I’ve heard he’s a phenomenal athlete so getting him in is a no-brainer to see how he goes.”
10. Sela is studying sports performance at the University of Bath. Aaron James, Head of Rugby at the uni, said: “We are so pleased for Billy, he deserves this opportunity for the work he has put into his performances and his journey. It may have been a couple of seasons since he last represented ‘the Brothers’ but we still see a lot of Billy around the campus, pre and post lectures. Hopefully he will become the latest current student to earn a senior cap for his country.”
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