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| Full name | Benjamin Te'o | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1987-01-27)27 January 1987 (age 38) Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 109 kg (17 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 9 April 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ben Te'o (born 27 January 1987) is a former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer who last played as asecond-rower for theBrisbane Broncos in theNRL and is currently an assistant coach at the Broncos.
He previously played for both theWests Tigers and theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs with whom he won the2014 NRL Grand Final. Te'o also played at representative level forQueensland in theState of Origin series andSamoa at international level. Between 2014 and 2020 he played professionalrugby union, featuring as acentre at international level forEngland and theBritish & Irish Lions.
Te'o was born inAuckland, New Zealand. His father is Samoan and his mother is English.
He was aHibiscus Coast Raiders junior, and was selected to play for the New Zealand Under 16s in 2003 and was also a member of the 2005Junior Kiwis. He also played rugby union as a junior. Te'o moved to Australia at the age of 17 and lived on theGold Coast in Queensland, playing rugby league withKeebra Park State High School.[2]
In the2007 NRL season Te'o debuted for theWests Tigers in Round 9 against theSt George Illawarra Dragons, and scored his first try in first grade the next week against theNew Zealand Warriors. Te'o played 14 games and scored 2 tries in the 2007 season.In September 2007, he was called into theNew Zealand national rugby league team train-on squad with several other Wests Tigers players but was not selected for thetour of Great Britain.[3][4]Te'o played 22 games and scored 8 tries in the2008 NRL season.
He was named in theSamoa squad for the2008 Rugby League World Cup.[5] He was overlooked for the first two Samoa matches, but made his international debut on 9 November atCUA Stadium againstFrance, scoring two tries.[6]
Te'o signed with theBrisbane Broncos for the 2009 season.[7][8] He made his debut for the Broncos at second row in Round 1 against theNorth Queensland Cowboys
Te'o played 18 games and scored 4 tries in his first year for the Broncos in 2009.[citation needed]
In May 2010, he was named in theQueensland Maroons squad to play against the Blues. Te'o pledged his allegiance to the Australia and the Maroons being named as the 18th man for Game 1.
It was announced on 5 June 2010, that Te'o had signed a contract extension which would see him remain at the Broncos until the end of the 2012 season.[citation needed]
On 2 May 2012, it was announced Te'o had agreed to terms with theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs up until the end of the2015 NRL season.[9] Later that year, he was selected to make Origin debut for the Maroons in game 3.
Te’o joined the Rabbitohs in 2013. Te’o represented Queensland and was selected in the Australian squad in 2012. Keen to establish himself as a starting forward in the Rabbitohs pack in 2013.
Te'o played all three games of the2013 State of Origin series from the interchange bench, helpingQueensland extend their record for consecutive series victories to eight. In the 2014 pre-season Te'o played for the Rabbitohs in the2014 NRL Auckland Nines tournament. He played from the interchange bench in all three games of the2014 State of Origin series, which Queensland lost.
Te'o scored a crucial try against theSydney Roosters in the semi-final of the 2014 NRL finals series, upon returning from suspension for achicken wing tackle on Sam Thaiday.[10]
On 4 June 2014, Te'o announced that he would be leaving the Rabbitohs at the end of the season.[11]
Te'o played in the Rabbitohs premiership winning side in the2014 NRL Grand Final.
On 4 June 2020, Te'o returned to theBrisbane Broncos, signing with the club for the rest of the 2020 season.[12] He has been re-signed for 2021 as part of the Broncos' 30-man squad.[13] On 19 August 2021, Te'o announced that he was retiring at the end of the season. He played his last game against theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs in round 5 of the 2021 season. He retired immediately once the season was over.
On 12 August 2014,Leinster announced Te'o had signed to play for them after the end of the2014 NRL season.[14] Te'o broke his arm within the first twenty minutes of his Leinster professional debut. After only three weeks he was named in the starting squad for Leinster after coachMatt O'Connor described him as an outstanding athlete.[15]
On 22 December 2015, Te'o signed with English clubWorcester Warriors in theAviva Premiership from the 2016–17 season.[16]
On 21 August 2019, Te'o signed with French sideRC Toulonnais.[17]
In 2020, Te'o signed with JapaneseSuper Rugby club theSunwolves. He left the club after the cancellation of the2020 Super Rugby season.
In May 2016 Te'o was called up by England coachEddie Jones for the tour of Australia.[18] He scored his first England try after coming on as a replacement against France on 4 February 2017.[19] He made his international starting debut on 26 February 2017, against Italy during the Six Nations.
Te'o played in the2017 Lions tour to New Zealand. He started the first test at inside centre.
Te'o returned from injury to start his second test for England against Italy in the opening round of the Six Nations and went on to feature in all of England's 2018 Six Nations matches.[20]
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France | London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2017 Six Nations | 4 February 2017 | Win | 19 – 16 |
| 2 |  Italy | London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2017 Six Nations | 26 February 2017 | Win | 36 – 15 |
In 2013, Te'o was cleared of assault after an altercation at a home in Brisbane.[22] He claimed a woman attacked him with a stiletto and he acted in self-defence. The woman was left unconscious.[23]
