London: Former NRL star Ben Teo says England will have their hands full trying to nullify his old housemate and Wallabies fullback Israel Folau on Saturday.
Teo, Englands inside-centre for the weekends blockbuster, used to live with Folau in Kensington while they were playing with the Rabbitohs and NSW Waratahs respectively.
Ready: Ben Te'o on the training paddock for England. Credit:PA
Folau was a key figure in convincing Teo to make the switch to rugby in late 2014. Te'o had a stint at Leinster before moving to Worcester for the 2016-17 Premiership season.
Teo, who played 152 games in the NRL, was teammates with Folau during their time at the Brisbane Broncos in 2009 and 2010.
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Former housemate: Israel Folau.Credit:PA
Folau will start at fullback against England and more than likely get more touches than in recent games, before the Italy fixture, where he has been placed on the wing.
“I played with Izzy a lot and played against Izzy a lot … he is a class player,” Teo said. “We have to keep him quiet, not kick the ball straight down to him and let him gallop back. Weve got our hands full with that.
“Ill talk to him after the game. We used to live together but that was a long time ago when we were coming through. Im just happy with the progression hes made. Hes played three codes. Hes one of the top fullbacks in the world in rugby union and Im just trying to follow his lead.”
England will be looking to make it six victories in a row against Australia in front of a packed house at Twickenham.
Teo has played Australia just the once in 2016 when England managed a 37-21 victory in a game where Folau was the sides fullback.
“I probably never imagined that Id play Test rugby against an old roommate but its funny how these things work," Te'o said. "Izzy was one of the guys, when I made the change from rugby league, that I had a deep conversation with about whether I could make it or not. He backed me and said to give it a go."
Teo shed light on what it was like to live with Folau, saying he was very committed to being the best athlete he could be.
“In those days Izzy was still quite early in his career and still learning the game [of rugby].” Teo said. “Hes just a hard worker who puts a lot into his career and his preparation. We just shared differences between the games at the time.
“I wanted to know if he thought Id have the tools to be successful and whether they transferred to rugby union. He said they would, so I gave it a go.
“He was fun to live with. We had some good times. But one thing about Izzy is he is very driven in his career. He always wants to play well. Thats something I took away from him.”
Tom Decent is a journalist with Fairfax Media.
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