“I wanted to know if I was c--p.” As motivations go for switching codes, Ben Te’o’s explanation is about as blunt as his thunderous tackle on Jamie George that broke the torpor of Saracens’ victory against his new side Worcester at Twickenham last Saturday.

That was pretty much the only punch that Worcester managed to land on the English champions in their 35-3 defeat, as the centre happily concedes. “It has been a wake-up call for us,” Te’o said. “They are such a great team that they only give you limited opportunities and we mucked those up. They made us look bad and we were bad.”