English rugby’s last NRL import may have fizzled but Eddie Jones is confident Ben Te’o has what it takes to be a Test player.
Former Brisbane and South Sydney player Te’o landed in Australia on Thursday as part of Jones’ England squad for the three-Test series against the Wallabies.
The last man to don the Red Rose after a switch from the NRL was Sam Burgess – a former Rabbitohs teammate of Te’o – whose performances as a makeshift centre during last year’s World Cup led to him becoming a scapegoat for the hosts’ shock pool stage exit.
Burgess had only one season in rugby union before the World Cup and wasn’t helped by playing his club rugby in the forwards.
Also a league forward converted to a rugby centre, Te’o has played almost 50 matches of club rugby in Ireland and England to learn his new trade on his way to an international call-up.
Jones, who coached successful Wallabies rugby league converts Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Matt Rogers during his time at the helm of Australia, says Te’o is capable of making the step up.
“Having coached a lot of rugby league guys and knowing that if you can play State of Origin successfully you can be successful in Test rugby, he’s got the pedigree to be successful, so that’s one thing,” Jones said.
“Secondly he’s got a skillset that’s very suited to playing 12 in international rugby.
“He can take the ball through the line. He can pass the ball before the line. He’s a very good, strong and robust defender.”
Jones’ words seem to suggest the 29-year-old is a big chance to make his Test debut against the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium in the opening Test on June 11.
The former Queensland State of Origin representative may well be familiar with the surroundings but his selection would surely be a gamble in the vital first match of a three-game series.
“He’s got to practice yet. He hasn’t trained with us,” said Jones when pushed on Te’o’s chances of a debut.
M hughes
Guest
Die hard are u saying the afl is bigger yes it's huge in vic sa and wa which accounts for only 46% of the population soo is far from being tired and stale as I stated before record sponsorship tv ratings and the game as a whole has more sustainable competition than the afl
Bakkies
Guest
Thurston would be a backrower's wet dream
Dirk
Guest
Why? The Wallaby players live in Australia and play for Australian clubs. Sounds like you're one of those ignorant euro's who believe all Australians are descended from the English.
SP
Guest
Yeah nah. JT is the most naturally talented footballer playing in Australia at present. He would have done well.
Upfromdown
Guest
It is the biggest game in one country, for 3 times a year, but that's it. To pretend it is bigger than that anywhere else is delusional, let alone bringing in the Rugby League World Cup as a comparison. SOO lives on hype, but nothing else.
ClarkeG
Guest
I was being light-hearted.
soapit
Guest
if that scoreline had come purely from penalty goal markus you might have a point
soapit
Guest
find it hard to believe that theres any angle i havent gone over on this already after the other day clarke
Markus
Guest
"Only the ones who couldn’t count" I did say diehard League fans.
PeterK
Roar Guru
a lot harder to be a great playmaker in rugby than league. You do not have the easy option of just taking a tackle. The defence is right up on you taking your time and space away instead of 10 metres back. Thurston may have failed.
Jerry
Guest
Only the ones who couldn't count, that scoreline has been impossible in rugby since 1992.....
Markus
Guest
Easy to understand why. 6-4 is the kind of scoreline diehard League fans have been trying to mock rugby over for years.
Die hard
Roar Rookie
The AFL is much bigger over here and we all know it. SOO is tired and stale even here in Brisbane where the spirit of Artie Beetson rests.
Die hard
Roar Rookie
State of Origin today is a far cry from its glory. In the eighties and nineties it captured the hearts of the east coast. Those early days en-captured all the parochialism north and south of the tweed and mixed it into a spectacle. Those days are long past. When the Emperor died so did the games glory. State of Origin has become a turgid tussle over egged by loud and mouthy commentators and hype. There was more atmosphere in the lower quality world cup matches than what we got last night in SOO this year. All the hype about how good it is and how good are the athletes is just that - hyperbole. I used to live for it but can now live without it.
Dirk
Guest
Agree. Johnathon Thurston would have killed it as a Rugby player. Most talented player across both codes. Te'o was a few levels below him.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I think people are getting too carried away with the comment. Of course good State of Origin players likely would make good test rugby players. We are talking about the absolute pinnacle of NRL performance. Not everybody who gets a jersey, just those that do and are very good players. It's not an unreasonable statement at all. I'm just not 100% convinced that Te'o falls into that category with a career of 7 Origins across 3 seasons.
Sean
Guest
Stopped reading at "in Australia". There's a big world out there...
Derm
Roar Guru
"Te’o has played almost 50 matches of club rugby in Ireland and England to learn his new trade on his way to an international call-up." Not quite sure where this line came from in the various reports of this article, but it's a bit of a reach to say he's played almost 50 games in Ireland and England. He played with Leinster in the PRO12 league and therefore competed against teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy for most of his games. He also played in 7 European Cup matches against teams from England and France. He had only 11 league games in his first season due to injury, and 22 league games this season. 33 league games. He played in 2 European matches in first season - home against Bath and away at Toulon. and 5 European matches this season where he played Bath twice and Wasps away and Toulon home and away. 7 cup games in total. He scored 5 tries in his league career, but zero points in his Euro cup career. So 40 games in total, 3 of them in England, 2 in France, and the remainder in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy. Just for accuracy sake. :)
Timbo
Roar Rookie
If you're a Wallabies fan, probably best to change the subject given the possible make-up of their backline.
Chinmay Hejmadi
Roar Guru
Oh. An international in every sense of the word, Te'o.