DIRECTOR of rugby Alan Solomons felt “consummate professional” Ben Te’o proved to be “really good value” for Worcester Warriors.

The powerful centre left Warriors at the end of last season and has now joined French giants Toulon after penning a short-term contract.

During his three-year stint at Sixways, Te’o, who was reportedly earning in excess of £350,000 a year, scored nine tries in 36 appearances.

His lack of outings in blue and gold got under the skin of the club’s supporters with many claiming the 32-year-old was more interested in his England career.

But Solomons has been unwavering in his support of Te’o whose time at Warriors was blighted by injuries.

And the Warriors boss reckoned Te’o showed his true colours in the back end of the 2018-19 campaign.

Te’o played the full 80 minutes in each of Worcester’s final six Gallagher Premiership matches to help steer them to safety.

Reflecting on his spell working with Te’o, Solomons said: “I arrived in October of 2017 and he had just got injured against Brive. My first game was against Connacht (the week after).

“He just hasn’t been available because he has either been injured or been playing for England.

“When he has played for us he has given good value.

“We saw it in the critical part of the season when he played for us. He has been really good value for us.”

Following his move to Worcester, Te’o quickly became a key man in Eddie Jones’ England plans, making his debut in November 2016 and winning 18 caps.

But he was not selected for the Rugby World Cup following an alleged altercation with Harlequins’ Mike Brown on a team social in Italy.

He is now ineligible to play for England after signing for Toulon on a deal that runs until November.

However, Solomons insisted Te’o had helped to nurture Warriors’ young centres Will Butler and Ollie Lawrence and set the standards in training.

“All of our experienced centres had a positive influence on the likes of Will and Ollie in particular,” Solomons said.

“Ollie was in an England camp when Ben was there. Having Ben there helped him a lot.

“Ollie made the point to me that what he learned from that set-up was what was required for you to be at that level.

“Those standards are set so high that if you don’t meet them and maintain them you are not going to be in the national team.

“Ben has always been in set-ups where the standards have been really high. When he played in the NRL (National Rugby League) the standards would have been very high.

“He then came across to Leinster where we know the standards are high. He has come here and got involved with the England set-up where the standards are very high.

“He is used to that level.

“You don’t get to play for the British and Irish Lions against the All Blacks in New Zealand and in the State of Origin game in Australia unless you are a consummate professional and adhere to very high standards.

“If we can do that by setting the bar high and maintain those standards I believe that we will solve our inconsistency problem.”