PICKING powerful Worcester Warriors centre Ben Te’o in the British and Irish Lions squad for New Zealand makes sense for “a lot of reasons”.

Warriors director of rugby Gary Gold said he wouldn’t be surprised if Te’o was named in Warren Gatland’s 37-man Lions squad being announced next Wednesday.

Last week, the 30-year-old Warrior said he didn’t expect to be included in the Lions squad.

Instead, Te'o has set his sights on gaining selection for England’s summer tour to Argentina.

“I wouldn’t be overly surprised (if Te’o was included),” Gold, who was involved with the South Africa squad who sealed a 2-1 triumph over the Lions in a physically-charged series in 2009.

“If you think back to 1997, the Lions took John Bentley and he made a significant impact on the tour with his game breaking.

“Gatland may have had a word with Eddie Jones (England head coach) and they may want to go down that route with a guy who has come from league, has a big match temperament and will be playing in his home country.”

The Lions begin their 10-match tour with a match against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians in Whangarei on June 3.

The Lions then face Blues (June 7), Crusaders (June 10), Highlanders (June 17), Maori All Blacks (June 17) and Chiefs (June 20).

The first Test against the All Blacks takes place in Auckland on June 24.

The Lions then meet Hurricanes on June 27 before the final two Test matches.

The second Test against the All Blacks is in Wellington on July 1 before the third Test in Auckland on July 8.

Te’o joined Warriors from Irish outfit Leinster last summer and has won eight Test caps for England, including five in their title-winning Six Nations campaign. He scored tries against France and Italy.

Auckland-born Te’o has bagged four tries in nine appearances for Warriors and recovered from the concussion he suffered in England’s Six Nations defeat in Ireland last month.

Te’o previously played at the highest level in rugby league and starred for Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

He also represented Samoa at international level and Queensland in the State of Origin series.

Gold said: “Ben is a Kiwi but I know he spends a lot of time in Australia. There would be a lot of reasons as to why it makes sense (to take him on the Lions tour).

“Whether he goes and they see how he goes in the midweek team against the provincial teams it would be a good experiment.

“It would be a nice problem for the selectors to have if Ben can put his hand up and step up.”