News Limited is reporting that Ben Te’o will switch codes at the end of the 2014 NRL season and play Rugby Union, possibly in an effort to turn out for England at the next Rugby Union World Cup.
This move has been quietly on the card for a while and even as late as yesterday Te’o was openly talking about having enough of the spotlight he is under in the NRL due to previous assault allegations that had been leveled against him last year.
The assault allegations, which were later dropped, were behind Te’o’s outburst towards Danny Weidler of Channel 9. Weidler had strongly pursued the story for many weeks before the allegations were eventually dropped.
It is a bit strange that a bloke born in New Zealand who claims to be a Queenslander wants to play Rugby Union for England, but stranger things have happened. To me it shows why we need stronger eligibility rules in Rugby League. Playing for a state or country shouldn’t be based on an economic choice. That just devalues representative football.
Te’o isn’t expected to announce his move until after the State Of Origin series so that he doesn’t get dropped for switching codes.
