Leinster centre Ben Te’o is set to be fast-tracked into the England squad as soon as he completes his move to Worcester this summer.
The former rugby league star arrived in Ireland in 2014 but announced in December that he will be moving to Premiership side Worcester Warriors at the end of this campaign.
Now it has emerged that Te’o is likely to be called into the England squad for this summer’s tour to Australia.
Chris Foy reports in The Mail that Te’o has been in regular contact with England head coach Eddie Jones and is seen as the ideal man to fill the void left by Sam Burgess, who returned to rugby league following a spell in union which culminated in a disappointing showing at the World Cup.
Te’o’s mother is from the UK so he will not have to wait before being eligible for the national team.
It is said that the 29-year-old’s representatives had expressed his desire to play for England before his move to Leinster in 2014, but the RFU’s rules on players playing overseas prevented him from being called up.
Now it appears that he may make his England debut before he has even turned out for Worcester.
Upon announcing his move to the Premiership Te’o said:
“Warriors are in a very similar stage in their playing and cultural development that I found when I first joined the Rabbitohs and I look forward to making a similar contribution at Sixways.
“The investment in facilities and infrastructure is impressive and after speaking with Dean Ryan, it is clearly a club which is on the up. Everything is in place for Worcester to become a successful club competing in the top tier and I’m excited about getting started at Sixways.”
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