Tuesday 29 March 2016 12:54, UK
Who is Ben Te’o, the soon-to-be Worcester centre who looks set to become the latest cross-code convert to pull on the red rose of England?
Leinster centre Te'o has been thrown in to the rugby limelight this week amid rumours he is set to be included in Eddie Jones' England squad for their summer tour of Australia.
Born in Auckland to an English mother, Te'o announced back in December that he was to turn his back on a rumoured return to Rugby League and the province of Leinster to join Worcester Warriors in a deal reportedly designed to further his international ambitions.
In rugby league, Te'o represented New Zealand U18s and the Junior Kiwis before a move to Australia saw him switch allegiances, enjoying a successful career with Australia's West Tigers, Brisbane Broncos and the South Sydney Rabbitohs, as well as playing seven games for Queensland in the State of Origin.
The 29-year-old also represented Samoa in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, scoring twice in his sole appearance against France.
It was at the South Sydney Rabbitohs where the centre had his finest moment in Rugby League when he won the NRL Grand Final, his final act before his move to union alongside close friend, former housemate and high profile code-switcher Sam Burgess.
The pair left Australian shores for their union adventures within days of each other, Burgess to Bath and Te'o to Leinster. The former made just 21 appearances for the West Country club before returning to the NRL , while Te'o remained despite an injury-plagued start and declined lucrative deals to return down under.
A broken arm on his Leinster debut against Edinburgh in October 2014 limited Te'o's playing time in his debut season but he still went on to play a further 12 times that year, including both the Champions Cup quarter-final against Bath and semi-final against Toulon.
This campaign, Te'o has been an ever-present member of the Irish province's backline, making 19 starts so far, including a try in the PRO12 match against Zebre.
December 2015 brought about the news that Te'o was to leave Irish shores and join the Aviva Premiership and Worcester Warriors at the end of the season, in a move rumoured to make him the fourth highest payed player in the league.
On signing for the club he said: "Warriors are in a very similar stage in their playing and cultural development that I found when I first joined the Rabbitohs and I look forward to making a similar contribution at Sixways," Te'o said.
"The investment in facilities and infrastructure is impressive and after speaking with Dean, it is clearly a club which is on the up.
"Everything is in place for Worcester to become a successful club competing in the top tier and I'm excited about getting started at Sixways."
