A versatile player who can play both in the second row and throughout the back row, Opeta made his debut for Manu Samoa against Ireland in 1996 and played in the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cup events, scoring a try against South Africa in Brisbane in the latter tournament.
During his time with Premier One side Currie, Palepoi first appeared for Glasgow in 2002 in a Hogmanay encounter with his old club Border Reivers.
He was also a member of the northern hemisphere side that played in the 2005 Tsunami fund match at Twickenham.
Palepoi joined Border Reivers in 2005 from Harlequins. Before then he had played for Currie, Orrell, Exeter, Rotherham, and Wellington’s NPC team in New Zealand.