Saturday Round-Up

Tough break for Te’o: Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor has been dealt yet another injury blow this season, with news that star off-season signing Ben Te’o broke his arm on his debut appearance last night. The former Rugby League star lasted just 19 minutes of his first outing in Leinster Blue, before his teammates went on to seal a comfortable 33-18 bonus point win over the struggling Edinburgh in Guinness Pro12 action. in a rather innocuous incident, Te’o came out of a tackle clutching his arm, before being assessed by the medical staff and subsequently leaving the field moments later. Te’o arrived in Dublin just a few weeks back, having completed the NRL season with victory in the Premiership final with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. It remains unclear as to the timeframe surrounding Te’o’s absence.

One in One out for PSA: French head coach Philippe Saint-Andre has handed an international call up to giant lock forward Sebastien Vahaamahina for the forthcoming November International Series. The monstrous Clermont second rower comes into the frame after Romain Taofifenua was officially banned for three weeks yesterday, having been found guilty of kicking Ulster centre Stuart Olding in the head in last weekend’s European Champions Cup action at Ravenhill. Taofifenua will miss both clashes against Fiji and Australia with the former Perpignan man Vahaamahina taking over in the second row. 23 year old Vahaamahina has represented France on 14 occasions, most recently against Australia in June, and was a surprise omission for many in Saint-Andre’s initial squad selection. 

Ryan Sheady