Why Teo’s Toulon bunk will bug Irish

BEN Te’o has had a varied career, never staying too long in one place as can be gauged from his various employers: Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Samoa, Queensland, Leinster, Worcester Warriors, England, the Lions.

No sooner had he been cut adrift from the final 31 for Japan than he was off again, this time to Toulon. His detractors see the move as one of indecent haste, automatically disqualifing Te’o from World Cup selection should Manu Tuilagi suffer further injury, a not uncommon occurrence.

Ugo Monye, the former Harlequins and England wing who has converted himself into one of the best pundits in the game, thinks it ‘stinks’ and many would agree. Loyalty, of course, is a two-way street. Rugby is littered with examples of players treated, as one famous Lion put it, ‘like lumps of meat’.

Eddie Jones’ silence on the alleged dust-up between Te’o and Mike Brown during a ‘social’ night raises the question of whether England’s head coach told the ex-Warrior from Worcester that he had burnt his World Cup bridge.

In that event, Te’o’s exit on a three-month contract to Toulon makes sound business sense for a 32-year-old with not that many more moves to make. Whatever the rationale behind it, Irish fans will not be amused.

Having arrived at Leinster on a two-year contract, Ireland hoped Te’o would stay for a third and qualify for the national team on residence. Instead, tapped up by Jones, he moved across the Irish Sea to make the most of his Red Rose qualification provided by his English mother.

World Rugby, having taken an eternity to increase the residential period from three years to five, can hardly complain when players exploit the rules for their long-term benefit.