Journey for Te’o comes full circle

ENGLAND’S Ben Te’o has returned to where it all started. The Worcester centre was a shock inclusion in Warren Gatland’s 41-man squad for this daunting 10-game Lions tour.

He has caught the eye throughout the season with his athleticism and explosive ball- carrying, but the dual-code superstar was not always the freakish specimen who terrorises opposition defences. His stellar career has resulted from hard graft and sheer perseverance.

At 17, Te’o was down on his luck. Cast aside by the Warriors, New Zealand’s flagship rugby league franchise, overweight and suffering from compartment syndrome in his calves, the Auckland-born powerhouse was in limbo.

That was until Greg Lenton, who oversees the hugely successful rugby league programme at Keebra Park State High on Australia’s Gold Coast, spotted Te’o during a scouting mission in Auckland.

He was offered a scholarship to an institution that has produced a host of stars but there was one catch. He had to get into shape, and quickly.

‘He had calf issues and some real weight problems and I can sort of understand why he got let go at the Warriors,’ Lenton recalled. ‘I know he wasn’t very happy with the way it was dealt with but I said to him, “Would you like an opportunity at Keebra Park”, and he said, “I’d really love to”. I said, “Here’s the deal, you’re going to have to lose this amount of weight in the next three months otherwise I won’t bring you over”.

‘ I thought that will show me whether you’re committed or not or just talking.’

Te’o (right) went to work immediately, undergoing a gruelling training regime which included bleep tests on Red Beach near his home on the Hibiscus Coast.

Te’o made the cut but remained a raw athlete, both physically and technically, but under the guidance of Lenton, he flourished.

‘When he first turned up, one of the first things I said to him was, “You’ve got to straighten up your lines, your lines are terrible… we’ll need to work on that”. He asked, “What’s a line?’’

‘So, you can see where he was coming from. He came from being very poor physically and technically and he worked so hard. He did all that in a year which was very, very rare.

‘It takes a lot of drive and dedication to do that. He couldn’t even do a lot of running initially because of his calves so we had to adapt his training programme.’

Thankfully Te’o pursued his dream and would enjoy a stellar rugby league career. Following some advice from flatmate Israel Folau, Te’o decided to have a crack at union, the code he grew up playing.

The 6ft 2in, 16st 7lb midfielder made a big impression during a two-season spell at Leinster before a phone call from Eddie Jones and a big-money offer from Worcester influenced his next move.

A journey that has spanned five clubs, four countries and two codes continued with Te’o’s Test debut for England against South Africa during the autumn internationals. It was a proud day for his mother, Linda, who grew up in east London before moving to New Zealand as a teenager. There she met a Samoan by the name of Tili Te’o, and the rest is history.

Now, Teo’o is in the running to take on the All Blacks for the Lions at Eden Park in the first Test — a stadium located just a 40-minute drive from where he

grew up.