ENGLAND hopeful Ben Te’o said the prospect of representing his country won’t distract him from his duties at Warriors.
The 29-year-old, who was recently named in England’s provisional 45-man Elite Player Squad, insists he is not ‘bothered’ by the pressure to perform at his best for both club and country and believes signing for the Warriors will improve his chances of pulling on the England jersey.
The centre, who was part of the 32-man England squad in the recent tour of Australia, also believes he will adapt to the Premiership with ease after having played in the ‘tough’ PRO12 with Leinster.
“I haven’t been here long but I’m beginning to learn all the plays and have gelled with the guys on and off the field. They’re a really good bunch of close-knit players,” said Te’o.
“I only knew Cooper Vuna before arriving here. I’ve known him since we were kids in New Zealand. But the rest of the guys all share the common purpose of wanting to play good rugby, so it’s been quite an easy transition.
“I’ve heard a lot about the Premiership and how it’s a very physical league, but so is the PRO12. Connacht, Ulster and Munster are top sides and Scotland has tough teams too. But I guess I’ll have to find out for myself.
“Looking at England, you’ll always have your country in the back of your mind as you always want to push yourself to reach that level.
“I want to represent England and be the best player on the field and hopefully playing club rugby at Warriors will improve my chances of featuring in the international arena.
“Every rugby player strives to play at the pinnacle of the sport.”
Te’o also isn’t fazed by the expectation of being Warriors’ impact player this season.
“I know because of my experience the Warriors fans will expect me to be the impact man on the pitch and I’ll feed off that. I understand I have to offer my best performance every game and that’s what I’ll do. I’m not too bothered about the pressure it brings,” he added.
“I just hope I get selected to play our first game at Twickenham against the European champions [Saracens]. You couldn’t ask for a better debut than that.”