Ben Te’o: I nearly declared for Ireland
Te’o made his Test debut off the bench in Saturday’s 37-21 victory over South Africa and is poised to win a second cap when Fiji visit Twickenham this weekend in the second of four autumn internationals.
Born in Auckland but moving to Australia when he was 17, he grew up playing both codes of rugby but it was league that claimed his allegiance and he went on to make eight State of Origin appearances for Queensland.
Now playing with Worcester, Te’o’s first union club was Leinster, and Ireland were hoping to eventually secure his services on residency grounds before Eddie Jones persuaded him to opt for England, an act made possible through his mother’s heritage.
“The first thing I decided was wanting to play rugby union. Obviously my time in rugby league was fun but I was looking for something else,” Te’o said.
“I had some questions myself, such as if I had stayed in union as a kid would I have made it? Would I have been a good player? I needed to answer those questions myself.
“The opportunity to play union took me to Ireland, that’s where I played, and then a chat with Eddie.
“A chat about if I got myself over to the Premiership I would have an opportunity if I played well to put myself in the system and that’s how it came along. I obviously knew being eligible and having a passport, it was just the way that it went!”
Te’o says a chat with Australia star Israel Folau encouraged him to return to union from rugby league.
Folau had already made the transition when the two shared a house together for five months in Sydney and it was the brilliant Wallabies full-back who ultimately convinced his former Brisbane Broncos team-mate to switch codes.
“I said ‘I’m 27, do you think it’s too late?’. He said ‘No, no it’s not too late’. I asked if he thought that I would be alright or is it too hard? He said ‘No I think that you can do it’. He’s someone that gave me a lot of confidence to give it a go.”
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