Kyle Shanahan won’t be able to pack this souvenir in his suitcase.
The San Francisco 49ers’ week in Australia will end Thursday night with their season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, but they took advantage of their time Down Under with a uniquely local side quest that could pay off on the field down the road.
He’s 6-foot-9, 269 pounds and wants to become the second former professional Australian rugby player to make it to the NFL. His name is Ben Te Kura, he is 22 years old and should only get bigger.
The 49ers arranged to bring him in for a workout while they were in Melbourne, and while it didn’t lead to anything immediately, he could be a future candidate for a spot on the practice squad as a designated International Pathway player.
Te Kura was granted his release in July from his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos, with the intention of pursuing a career as an offensive tackle in the NFL. He has previously worked out with the Seahawks, Bears and Dolphins.
San Francisco is still searching for somebody for 38-year-old Trent Williams to pass the torch to at left tackle, and the 49ers may have uncovered an intriguing option almost 8,000 miles from home. He has even more impressive physical traits than Enrique Cruz Jr., the raw left tackle they drafted in the seventh round in 2025 with the idea of developing him.
Te Kura’s hulking frame would immediately make him one of the largest players in the NFL, in the same group as Jordan Mailata, the Eagles’ left tackle who also got his start in rugby.
Mailata, 6-foot-8 and 365 pounds, came through the International Player Pathway program with no prior football experience after playing nothing but rugby growing up in Australia.
What makes Te Kura different is that he played rugby professionally at Australia’s highest level.
The only other Aussie to do that and come over to the NFL will be familiar to 49ers’ fans: Jarryd Hayne, who appeared in eight games for San Francisco in 2015. Hayne, however, was already 27 and was mostly used as a backup running back and special teams player in his lone season.
Former 49er Mitch Wishnowksy is one of a growing number of punters in the NFL who were raised on Australian rules football, though so far, none who have played professionally in Australia.
