ENGLAND centre Jonathan Joseph has praised the attacking and defensive capabilities of Worcester Warriors signing Ben Te’o.

Joseph is a certain starter at outside centre for England in Saturday’s eagerly-awaited opening Test against Australia in Brisbane.

And Te'o is competing with Luther Burrell and Owen Farrell to partner him, depending on whether Jones intends dropping George Ford at fly-half.

"Ben has settled in very well,” said Joseph.

“He's good to have around. He's a great player who will give us some great go forward in the near future.

"His offloading game is very good and defensively he's very tough. We'd love to see what he can offer on the internationals stage.

"He's here on merit after performing very well for Leinster. I've played against him a few times and he was very good in those games.”

Te’o has played for the past two years with Irish outfit Leinster after making the switch from rugby league.

He is being fast-tracked by England head coach Eddie Jones and is expected to make his debut in the three Test series Down Under.

Joseph said: "If he (Te’o) gets his shot I'm sure he'll take it with both hands.

“He told us already how passionate he is and what it means to be in the squad."