Payne Haas code swap warning: Rugby union has nothing on life in the NRL says Ben Te’o
Ben Te’o tasted the high life in rugby union, but the former Maroons enforcer says there is a reason every defector returns as there is nothing in rugby that equates to what the NRL can offer.
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Former Queensland Origin hitman Ben Te’o has advised Payne Haas of the perils of switching codes as Rugby Australia consider dangling a $1.2 million carrot to the Broncos superstar.
News Corp can reveal Haas faces a potential pay cut to remain at the Broncos, with RA bosses prepared to pay more than $1 million annually to convince the NSW Origin enforcer to follow the lead of Roosters whiz-kid Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and chase a career in “Wallaby gold”.
But Te’o - one of the NRL’s most successful rugby converts - has given Haas and Suaalii food for thought, providing a fascinating insight into the thrills and spills of rugby ... and why nothing can beat the high-octane theatre of State of Origin.
Te’o says Haas could live to regret defecting to rugby union before he gets a chance to win a maiden premiership ring at the Broncos.
Te’o, who signed with Irish rugby after winning a premiership with Souths in 2014, also believes Roosters sensation Suaalii, who has inked a three-year, $4.8 million deal with Rugby Australia, will eventually return to the NRL.
“If I was born with Payne’s body and attributes, I know what I would be doing,” said Te’o, now an assistant coach to Wayne Bennett at new NRL franchise the Dolphins.
“I took a leap of faith to go to rugby, but to be honest, I did miss rugby league and we (the NRL rugby defectors) all end up coming back, that’s the reality.
“History shows we all come back because rugby league is a part of you and the NRL is the best competition in the world.
“It would be a shame to see Payne leave the NRL.
“I think Suaalii will come back one day - he will miss the buzz of the NRL.
“He will enjoy his time in rugby, but there is nothing in rugby that equates to what the NRL can offer.”
If anyone is well qualified to provide NRL stars Haas and Suaalii an accurate snapshot of the challenges in rugby, it is Te’o.
Few footballers over the past 50 years can match his remarkable portfolio.
Still only 36, Te’o enjoyed an outstanding NRL career, playing 173 top-grade games, the 2008 World Cup for Samoa and six Origin games for Queensland, with his 2014 title win with the Rabbitohs among his highlights.
But he had a sporting itch to scratch.
The Souths triumph triggered a switch of codes.
Between 2014-20, Te’o experienced the world game of rugby, playing in Ireland, England, France and Japan. He played 16 Tests for England and two for the famous British and Irish Lions.
At age 30, he scored the winning try for England in a 19-16 defeat of France. There were 81,902 fans at Twickenham, the hallowed home of English rugby.
A Six Nations hero, Te’o was entitled to be intoxicated on the cultural joys of rugby. For a time, he was. But, in his candid moments, his heart yearned for the NRL. It’s why he returned to Australia in 2020 for a finale at the Broncos, playing 21 games alongside Brisbane’s rising star Haas.
Asked if NRL players such as Haas and Suaalii could be bored playing rugby, Te’o’s critique is compelling.
“I came to experience rugby as a world game, but once you have seen it, it’s not as impressive as what you might imagine it to be,” he says.
“There’s a couple of things for Payne to consider. Firstly, it would take him time to find his feet. If his attributes aren’t transferring, then there will be that frustration factor.
“There is also the boredom factor. Payne won’t be able to make 20 hit-ups a game and do all the things that we admire him for.
“There is no buzz like the NRL. There is no buzz like the build-up we have for NRL and Origin games. The daily stuff in the papers. The week-to-week coverage on TV. Rugby doesn’t have the same coverage as the NRL.
“It was certainly a magnet for me to go overseas and play at places like Twickenham.
“In rugby league, I felt like I was on this loop, but in rugby, I could travel to other countries on weekends.
“I know playing at a packed stadium in Paris is nice and I enjoyed my time in rugby, but to be honest, there’s nothing like the Cowboys versus Broncos at Suncorp with 50,000 fans.
“I was lucky that I won a premiership at Souths before I left, but if you have never won a premiership and you go to rugby, it will eat at you.
“When you are alone in your big house in the south of France and getting good money, but you are watching the NRL and watching blokes win premierships, you will feel alone.
“Sammy Burgess was in his mansion in Bath and he watched Souths get knocked out of the finals and it ate away at him. That’s why he came back.
“He wanted more.”
Rugby Australia have the funds to beat the Broncos in a bidding war for Haas.
While RA chairman Hamish McLennan has held talks with the Haas camp, at this stage he has yet to make a formal offer.
RA paid $1.6 million a season to entice Suaalii from Bondi, and they would offer in the vicinity of $1.2m to poach Haas from Red Hill. But, first, McLennan wants to know if Haas is serious about testing himself in rugby as the Wallabies build for their 2027 World Cup campaign.
Te’o has no doubt Haas would excel in the 15-a-side code, but there is one caveat. Haas’ stated ambition is to win a premiership at the Broncos. Right now, Brisbane’s three-time Paul Morgan Medallist has yet to tick that box.
Te’o also suggests Haas, who has played nine State of Origin games for the Blues, would miss the blood-and-thunder of taking on Queensland in the NRL’s toughest arena.
“If you finish your career without a premiership ring, it hurts,” he said.
“And I can assure Payne, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - like playing State of Origin.
“I have played in all the competitions. I have played in the English and Irish leagues, I’ve played Champions Cup, Six Nations and, yes, they have a buzz, but nothing like the product we have here.
“The NRL is so special with all the controversy, the media coverage every day and the athletes.
“Payne would miss Origin. He would watch the build up of the week and remember when he was a part of it in NSW colours.
“I know how driven Payne is and how much he would love to win a premiership.
“To be honest, I have never seen a rugby league forward like Payne Haas.
“I have never seen a prop do what he can do. So my thought is, ‘Why leave the NRL? Why leave being one of the greatest in the game?’
“He has all the things he needs at the Broncos.
“I have no doubt that Payne would go well. You could probably play him at No.8 or as a blindside flanker. You wouldn’t have him in the lineouts, he wouldn’t be a lifter or a jumper. You would get him out on the edges carrying the footy. You could play an expansive game with Payne on the edges.
“But the thing I would say to Payne is that God has given him something that I have never seen in my life before and it’s a thing that makes him one of the best rugby league players to play the game.
“His endurance, his size, his foot speed and his ability to keep going with his engine, Payne is one of a kind.
“Those attributes make him so good and that doesn’t always transfer to rugby union.
“In rugby league, he gets 10 metres, he gets a run up and he has a massive advantage because of his endurance.
“In union, the defences are so much closer and he might not get the chance to show what he can do.”
While Rugby Australia is banking on Suaalii to light up their code, Te’o has a physical warning for potential converts such as Haas.
“The one thing I found dangerous is the injuries you can pick up in rugby union,” he says.
“I picked up most of my injuries in rugby union because the movement patterns are different.
“Because the sport is foreign to you and there’s a lot of unpredictability at the ruck, there is a greater chance of getting hurt.
“Payne’s muscle memory in the NRL is so high now. If he goes to rugby, he doesn’t have that muscle memory. He will find himself in situations where massive bodies are falling on him and you can get cleaned out in rucks and mauls left and right, that’s where he can get hurt.
“You can get big contacts and collisions in rugby union. You can be playing the Springboks and you get a big No.8 like Duane Vermeulen (119kg forward) coming at you and you can whack him, but there’s not as many big-contact situations.
“But nothing really beats the physicality of the NRL.”
Haas is off-contract at the Broncos at the end of 2024 and celebrates his 24th birthday this December. Suaalii will leave the NRL at season’s end aged 20, but Te’o remains confident the Broncos will win the battle for Haas’ signature.
“I really hope Payne stays at the Broncos. He has unfinished business in rugby league,” Te’o said.
“Payne has to make sure that if he is going to go, that he isn’t coming back to the NRL or he is really invested (in rugby), because if you decide to come back, sometimes you aren’t the same player again because the NRL moves so fast.
“Having played with Payne, I think he really enjoys rugby league and the culture of the guys in the NRL.
“Rugby has a different group of guys. Sometimes you look around the locker room and they are still good guys, but they are not the type of league guys Payne would have grown up with.
“The Broncos are a great club. He is a big star in the NRL. He is the best in his position. His family is close by.
“I reckon Payne has a lot to achieve in the NRL before he considers a move to rugby.”
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Originally published as Payne Haas code swap warning: Rugby union has nothing on life in the NRL says Ben Te’o
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