Ben Te’o has the unique distinction of playing both as a Lion and in the State of Origin, Australia’s annual rugby league showpiece. Having reached those twin peaks, he has been left with an ambitious vision – the codes reunited.

The 38-year-old former England rugby union centre is back in league as an assistant coach with the mighty Brisbane Broncos, after his first cross-code switch led to him having a key role in the 2017 tour of New Zealand as Lion #815.

Since his time in the 15-man game ended abruptly during the Covid pandemic in 2020, Te’o has carved out a new niche in the high-profile National Rugby League here and gained even greater conviction about a future merger.

Context is important here. When the Lions played the Brumbies in Canberra, there were thousands of empty seats and the local view was that many ticket-holders stayed away to watch the Origin decider between Queensland and New South Wales instead.

Those series are a thunderous highlight of the sporting calendar Down Under – in Australia, the Lions tour operates in the shadow of Origin and the glitzy NRL, not to mention Aussie Rules.

In this part of the world, league reigns supreme, with a broadcast deal worth seven times more than union’s. Te’o witnesses the fervour up close, as the Broncos – the Manchester United of the NRL – routinely attract crowds of 40,000-45,000 to home games at Suncorp Stadium. What the code lacks is a vibrant international landscape, which is why Origin is widely acknowledged as the ultimate level, ranking above anything in even the Test game.

Ben Te’o has the unique distinction of playing for the Lions and in a State of Origin

The Auckland-born centre played league from 2007 to 2014 before crossing codes

League is huge in Australia, and Te’o believes the codes can benefit from each other

With all this in mind, Te’o presented his argument for a merger – unprompted by an interviewer who made the very same case at the start of last season.

‘I think that one day, rugby league and rugby union are going to have to come together,’ he said. ‘I’ve thought about this for a long time. ‘It’s all rugby. Simplify it. Make it one game. I can see it happening.

‘We have strong presence in Europe, in Australia and New Zealand. Make some calls on numbers on the field and laws. Put it together and globalise it, as something that can challenge soccer and basketball.

‘You have to look at which parts of rugby union aren’t that entertaining. It might be the lineout that they get rid of. And there are too many players on the bench in union. You need some smaller guys.

‘If you look at league now, they’re all in shape – lean and really fit. That’s because they cut the number of changes and took away all the stoppages, so it creates fatigue. You just can’t be out of shape. You have to be fitter and faster. Players are a bit smaller than they were 10 years ago.’

According to Te’o, the athletic profile of league these days makes it more in tune with the genetics of a greater range of countries than union. That opens the door to expansion.

‘If you want to go into new markets, they’re smaller people,’ he said. ‘If Japan played league, they would be better at that than they are at rugby union, because they’re fast and fit, and work hard.

‘Argentinians would be better at league than they are at union. Around the world, there are more countries with a size profile that suits league than union. Spanish people, Russians. They’re fast, hard and fit. Rugby union is too big and slow. If you merged the codes, it’s got to be a faster, fitter game of endurance, speed and skill.’

Brisbane Broncos, where Te’o now coaches, are the Manchester United of league, attracting around 40-45,000 fans to each match 

England superstars Andy Farrell and Jason Robinson are among the high-profile names to have crossed codes in the past

Teo’s playing career featured appearances in Origin with Queensland and NRL title glory alongside Sam Burgess with South Sydney Rabbitohs, before he crossed to union – first at Leinster, then with Worcester in the Premiership.

He played 20 times for England and was selected for the Lions eight years ago, going on to start the first Test against the All Blacks and come off the bench in the series finale, which culminated in a dramatic draw.

People often want to know which of his career summits meant more. ‘We’ve got the Lions here and State of Origin, happening at the same time,’ he said. ‘Nobody else has done both, so they are asking me, “You’ve been on a Lions tour and played in Origin, which is better?”.

‘Origin is the most confrontational, fast footy I ever played. That’s why people love it. It used to be about all-in brawls – that was the selling point. People would tune in because they wanted to see punch-ups. They’re not having punch-ups anymore, but people still want to see violence. That’s why they turn on the TV. People still aren’t happy that they banned fighting!’

There weren’t too many brawls in New Zealand when the Lions went there in 2017, but it was a high-intensity showcase of union passion, fervour and skill, with a trademark Red Army invasion making it particularly memorable.

‘Origin is the toughest arena, but the Lions is special because it only comes every four years and it’s like an all-stars tour,’ said Te’o. ‘What separates it is the feeling of everyone being with you on the ride. Everyone saves money to follow you.

‘In 2017, we were in Wellington and they were there. We were in Hamilton and Auckland, and they were there. We’d go to training, come back to the hotel, walk into the lobby and the whole bar full of people would be standing up cheering. They were all on the pints at about 11am! I never imagined I would ever play for the Lions, so it’s amazing that I had that opportunity.’

The fans drank together and the players sung together. ‘Warren Gatland was a fantastic coach,’ said Te’o. ‘I learned so much from him. It was all about bringing these players from different countries together quickly.

Te’o went on the electric 2017 Lions tour, which was drawn 1-1

Te’o and Owen Farrell get stuck into All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams in the first Test in 2017

‘I remember when we first came into camp, they brought in a choir teacher to teach us the songs. At the time I was thinking, “What are we doing?”. But it did bond us.’

Te’o’s international career in union came to a shuddering halt two years later, when a bonding night out with England took a turn for the worse. Tensions between him and full-back Mike Brown led to a confrontation and head coach Eddie Jones reacted by jettisoning the pair ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

Far from harbouring any resentment, Te’o understands why the Australian did what he did. Recalling the episode, he said: ‘These things happen in teams. People have issues and disagreements which boil over sometimes when alcohol is involved.

‘I didn’t think it was a big deal. It wasn’t like I flattened him. We were arguing and I jabbed him on the nose then we got separated, that was it.

‘How it ended was Eddie’s call. Now I coach teams who go on the beers, so I’ve dealt with this as a coach. If there was something like that between two of my players, I thought there was no coming back from it and by getting rid of someone, it could be a boost to the team and a line in the sand, maybe I’d do that.

‘That’s the reaction Eddie got, by saying, “That’s completely unacceptable, we’re going to the World Cup and they’re not coming”. They had a great World Cup.

‘Eddie’s a smart guy, so maybe he saw an opportunity. I tore my calf in week one, so I was really battling in that camp. I was starting to fade out and Brownie probably wasn’t going (to the World Cup) either, so it was an easy kill for Eddie.

‘He could think, “I’ll send a message to my team here – bang, bang, now on the plane, we’re going to Japan”.’

Te’o moved to Toulon for a short stint, before agreeing to join the Sunwolves in Super Rugby. When Covid led to borders being closed, the Japanese franchise had been playing in Brisbane and Te’o opted to stay there – in the city where he and his partner had family and friends.

Te’o insists his altercation with England team-mate Mike Brown was vastly overblown

Eddie Jones kicked the pair of them out of his England squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup

The league return came about by chance, as he started using the Broncos gym and was invited into their bubble, to fill a squad vacancy. It led to a two-season playing swansong in the NRL.

‘I never thought I’d play rugby league again,’ he said. ‘I thought I was a union player from then on.’

Instead, he began to consider a move into coaching, armed with insight gained from playing under the likes of Jones and Gatland.

Being mentored by legendary league coach Wayne Bennett provided the development support he needed to earn a role running the Broncos defence, at their state-of-the-art training complex in a quiet Brisbane suburb.

For Te’o, it feels like he is ‘back home’, but he has roots in various places. At a time when there is a lot of debate and criticism relating to the involvement of so many foreign-born players in the Lions squad, his story and his views are instructive.

‘For me, that stuff about where I was born never really fazed me,’ he said. ‘I understand we’re multi-cultural in this world now. My dad is from Samoa, my mum is from London and I was born in New Zealand. All those parts are important to me.

‘I played for Samoa in rugby league and for England in rugby union. I understand that stuff (about foreigners), but I feel like I was different, because my mum is English. It’s in my blood. It’s different to the guys with no connection – the project players. I understand that issue and that debate.

‘There was a moment when my mum came over to England, to watch me play in the Six Nations at Twickenham. I felt proud that she’d grown up there and I was wearing the England jersey, with her there to see it. I sung the anthem proudly and it felt something to me. It was special.’

Te’o scored two tries in his 16 caps for England, including the match-winning score against France in the 2017 Six Nations

Te’o is open about an ambition to coach in union one day, perhaps back in Europe. But first, he will have to learn to love it – at a professional level – again.

‘I haven’t watched a game of union since I retired,’ he said. ‘I really enjoy the grass-roots game, but when you get pressure for results and the box-kick starts coming in, I don’t really enjoy that part.’

When the Lions played the Reds at Suncorp Stadium, Te’o agreed to do a pre-match Q&A, then left before kick-off to drive home and avoid the traffic. For now, he is happily immersed in league again.

Maybe, before he considers re-crossing the divide, influential figures might have made his vision a reality by bringing the codes back together again.