He might be absconding to balmy Worcester but nobody could doubt Ben Te'o's effort on Friday night. In a game submerged in water, Leinster secured their first away league victory against the Ospreys since 2009 and their aggressive antipodean played a key role in his team's seventh straight league win.
Ben Te'o started the 22-9 encounter by flicking Dan Biggar to the turf the way one of us might remove a piece of fluff from our jacket. From there he got better.
With Leinster leading by a single point 15 minutes from the end, Te'o made an incisive arching break around an Ospreys heavy before freeing his hands in the tackle. Two seasons of rooming with Noel Reid was put to good use on the pitch as Te'o knew exactly where his pal was and how he wanted the ball, delivering it perfectly into the hands of his centre partner for a decisive score.
That assist was Te'o's latest attack in his constant crusade against Welsh teams.
You know Te'o has immersed himself in Irish rugby because something about Welshmen seems to get his back up too. Whenever Te'o crosses over into the valleys his destructive side comes out - last season he scored scintillating tries away to the Scarlets and the Dragons while almost decapitating Sam Warburton in Cardiff with his dubious arm protector.
It's a real pity that Leinster are losing Te'o after this season. Obviously there is no REAL need for him since Garry Ringrose AKA Baby BOD is the form player in the world but the Australian has blossomed nicely as a union player with each game. You would have gotten long odds on him sticking around in union longer than former team-mate Sam Burgess but to Te'o's credit, his footwork, ability to fend and his offloading are exactly the attributes the rugby public expected from Slammin' Sam.
In fairness to Te'o, when you have a chance to live in Worcester, you really have to take it and wouldn't it be funny if the English-eligble Te'o became England's league saviour as Burgess continues to try and out-rugged Russell Crowe.
And remember the aforementioned handoff on Dan Biggar? It isn't the first time he has eaten a mammoth fend from a rampaging Leinster man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN75j0BiIX0
