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Australian Super Rugby club the latest to be linked to Ben Te'o
By Alex Shaw
When Eddie Jones announced his first pre-World Cup England training camp squad last week, it was no surprise to see Ben Te’o listed among the participating players.
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Unlike some other veteran players who seem to have been cut adrift by the Australian, the likes of Chris Robshaw and Danny Care, Te’o continues to be heavily involved as Jones is an admirer of how well the centre is able to get England over the gain line.
Te’o future in the club game, however, is anything but certain. The 32-year-old is coming to the end of his contract with Worcester Warriors this summer and is unlikely to stay in the Gallagher Premiership.
He has been linked with multiple clubs in France and Japan. However, according to a report in Australian newspaper The Courier Mail, Te’o could be heading to the Super Rugby Reds. Brad Thorn is continuing to build his squad in the hope of making the Queensland-based side more competitive with the tournament’s top franchises.
The Reds are set to lose Samu Kerevi to Japan at the end of the season and it seems Thorn views Te’o as the perfect replacement for the departing centre.
29 players have been called up for next week's England training camp 🌹
See who's in ➡ https://t.co/S6BByCkCzW pic.twitter.com/oKDtATDKop
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 20, 2019
Kerevi is following in the footsteps of Campbell Magnay, as the Reds have struggled to retain talented midfielders in the face of the money and lifestyle opportunities available in the Japanese Top League.
Te’o has 18 caps for England and featured for the British and Irish Lions in their Test series versus New Zealand in 2017. But with the Auckland native set to turn 33 before the 2020 Six Nations, it’s largely expected that the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year will be his last showing in an England jersey.
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He would bring some much-needed experience alongside the Reds’ talented young back line options, such as recent World Rugby Under-20 Championship finalist Isaac Lucas and wing Jack Hardy, as well as gifted half-backs Tate McDermott and Hamish Stewart.
The Reds finished fourth in the Australian conference this season, with six wins and 10 losses from their 16 games. That ensured they missed out on the play-offs for the sixth-straight season.
There have been green shoots at Suncorp Stadium this season, however. Their six wins was their joint-best total over the last six seasons and they were able to take the scalps of the Blues, Stormers and Sharks, as well as running the Highlanders and Crusaders close.
If they now could lure Te’o to Brisbane next season, it would be quite the coup for Thorn’s developing side.
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WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what fans can expect in Japan at this year’s World Cup
