He was one of Eddie Jones’ finishers.
Before Ireland’s incredible and downright nerve wrecking 13-9 victory over England, many had predicted that the difference between the teams would have been the power of the English bench.
And who could blame them?
Jones is in the envious position of having the likes of Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Ben Te’o, Nathan Hughes and Jack Nowell as substitutes, ahem, excuse me, ‘finishers’, as Jones likes to describe them.
When the unloading of these finishers began in the second half, it was thought that it would help swing momentum back in England’s favour.
One of these players to make an appearance in the second half was former Leinster centre, Te’o.
The Auckland-born 30-year-old is a hugely physical and imposing specimen, so when he came on for George Ford after 63 minutes, it was safe to say that the English midfield just got a whole lot more imposing.
Unfortunately for England and Te’o, his cameo was cut short after suffering what looked to be a concussion after colliding with Ireland’s Robbie Henshaw.
Henshaw had no doubt in his mind that this man had to be stopped and he certainly put his body on the line.
Call it a hit, a soak tackle, whatever.
Bottom line is that Henshaw stopped Te’o in his tracks but unfortunately for the Worcester centre, he suffered a knock to the head as a result and had to be removed from the field of play.
It was incredible bravery from Henshaw and you can see it below.
Here is some footage of that monstrous hit by @henshawrob on Ben Te'o. #IREvENG #SixNations pic.twitter.com/Sef2yJ7Luy
— Seán McMahon (@Sean_McMahon89) March 18, 2017
Thankfully, Te’o was seen walking around comfortably in the press area after the game.
