Otahuhu Rugby Club in south Auckland was where London Irish's Samoan international centre got his first serious introduction to rugby at the age of 11.

A year later he was in Wesley College, Auckland's well known rugby nursery and training under Amanaki Palavi, a Tongan who was the college's rugby coach at the time. Having arrived at the college as a hooker, within a year Seilala had switched to the backs. Within two years he was in midfield, a position where he has since made a major impact in both southern and northern hemispheres.

During his first year at Wesley College, aged 12, he was selected for the Under 14s. A year later, he was in the Under 15s whose captain was the great Jonah Lomu. After College he moved south to Dunedin where he joined the Otago Academy. He was selected for the All Blacks Under 19 team that competed in the World Junior Championships in Wales in 1999. A year later he was winning the 2000 Colts Final with New Zealand against South Africa.

Between 2000 and 2006 he played at centre for the Otago NPC team racking up over 70 appearances and scoring 12 tries. He also completed five Super 12/14 seasons with the Highlanders achieving the distinction of recording 50 appearances and scoring 25 points.

Since his arrival at Sunbury in October 2006, he has enhanced his reputation as a skilful player and effective ball carrier, with an ability to offload that is second to none. Add to that the formidable defensive skills that have been seen to such telling effect in the Premiership and Heineken Cup. His performances in the 23 games he played for London Irish in the 2006/07 season earned him the Best Newcomer award at the club's annual awards dinner in 2007.

Since then Seilala has gone on to enhance his reputation with a further two seasons of outstanding performances in the Guinness Premiership and Europe. The universal high regard, in which he is held by his peers, was reflected in his receipt of both the London Irish Players' Player of the Season and the PRA Players' Player of the Season awards in 2008-09. He has made 96 appearances in all competitions for the Exiles, scoring 17 tries.

On the international scene he has been awarded nine caps by Manu Samoa, including an appearance in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He has also represented the Pacific Islands on four occasions.