FORMER NRL star Ben Te’o has grabbed attention in Britain by disclosing a plan to go backpacking in North Korea with England rugby teammate Jonny May.

Te’o has been discussing the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with madcap winger May, and the pair have decided to embark on a visit to the country.

“Me and Jonny have been watching a lot of documentaries on North Korea. That’s what he’s quite interested in. We chat a lot about that,” code hopper Te’o told reporters ahead of England’s Six Nations clash with Wales at the weekend. “I sent him a few links on some documentaries that I thought he might be interested in.

Ben Te'o celebrates scoring his side's first try during the RBS Six Nations match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium on February 4. Source: Getty Images

Ben Te’o’s partner in North Korean diplomacy Jonny May. Source: Supplied

“We’ve had quite a few chats and coffees about how we can fix the situation there. There’s a lot that needs to be done.

“Jonny wants to do a backpacking trip. He said: ‘We need to go before things get really bad’.

“I said ‘I don’t know if it’s worth it, it’s quite dangerous’ but he said ‘I’m pretty keen on it.’ Maybe we’ll be reporting to you live from North Korea in the summer.

“Jonny is interesting. I like being around him. I like talking to him about what he gets up to and what he’s thinking.” May has emerged as one of the England squad’s comedy characters, described by Tom Youngs as a “space cadet with X-factor” while coach Eddie Jones has said he would like to spend a day inside the Gloucester wing’s head. “A different character” is how May views himself, adding “I’m a thoughtful person. I’m deep in thought and people probably wonder ‘is he thinking about a lot or not a lot?’”

Ben Te'o celebrates his try during the First Preliminary Final match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium on September 26, 2014. Source: Supplied

Meanwhile on the pitch, Te’o is warming to his role as a supersub for Eddie Jones’ England rugby team.

Fresh from a destructive, matchwinning role in Saturday’s 19-16 victory over France, 30-year-old Te’o is looking to have a similar impact in the Six Nations showdown with Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

The Worcester centre arrived on to the pitch in the 69th minute and 93 seconds later he had carried twice and picked a smart running line to score the decisive try against France, setting a new record for the fastest touch down by a debutant in the Championship.

It was his fourth cap — all of them have been won off the bench — and the 30 -year-old accepts his current role, which has been described by Jones as a “finisher”.

“You’ve got to be patient. Eddie’s talked to me about that,” Te’o said. “I didn’t get a go on the tour to Australia last summer but I left feeling quite motivated to really train hard and have a good start to the next season,. “Now that I’m getting in and getting a bit of a taste of it, it makes me want to keep improving and keep pushing.

“I understand that strong teams are more like strong squads and that you need depth and you need people to all pull in the right direction.”

Ben Te'o playing for the Maroons during the second SOO game in 2013. Picture: Darren England Source: News Limited

Auckland-born Te’o, who qualifies for England through his mother, has a nomadic CV that includes stints with NRL clubs Wests Tigers, Brisbane and South Sydney, international rugby league for Samoa, seven appearances for Queensland in the State of Origin and spells at Leinster and Worcester in union. It is the variety of his experiences that ensures playing at a raucous Principality Stadium will be taken in his stride.

“I can’t say it would really affect me much. I’ve come up against plenty of teams, plenty of rival games, and been to plenty of hostile environments. It’s rugby isn’t it? I’m going to go out on the field and play,” he said.

“State of Origin is quite hostile. NRL finals — there are some big games there. If you’re going to Sydney to play the Blues in a decider it’s full-on, a bit of everything. Just really intense. So a nice loud crowd — I’m not foreign to it.

“I’ve played in some big European Cup games in France — Toulon was very hostile.”

While England ultimately claimed Te’o’s allegiance, Ireland were also interested in recruiting him on residency grounds.

The prospect of playing for Joe Schmidt’s men seemed to grow when a photo of him in an Irish jersey was circulated on social media, resulting in condemnation as a rugby mercenary.

“I think I was in a sports store and we were trying on a load of different jerseys. I just put that up,” said Te’o, who was one year short of qualifying for Ireland on residency grounds.

“At the time I was playing for Leinster. The guys who were on that team who understand my personality would know what I was doing.”