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Eddie Jones' snubbing will likely see Ben Te'o leave England
By Ian Cameron
Snubbed England centre Ben Te'o will likely depart England following his apparent Rugby World Cup snubbing at the hands of Eddie Jones.
Te'o is currently 'unattached' but has been linked with a move back to the Southern Hemisphere after Worcester Warriors confirmed he would be departing the club last April.
The former NRL star has also been linked with clubs in Japan and France.
In France, Racing 92, Toulouse and Toulon have all been reported to have expressed interest in the centre, while the Sunwolves in Japan are also said to be eager to add him to their team in what will be their final Super Rugby Season.
However, it is his native Australia that is the most likely destination for the blockbusting centre.
The Auckland born Te'o is thought to he be a target of Brad Thorn at the Queensland Reds. The Reds are set to lose Samu Kerevi to Japan at the end of the season and it seems Thorn views Te’o as the perfect replacement for the departing centre.
The now 32-year-old joined Warriors from Leinster three years ago and has won 20 international caps, two for the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand two years ago, during his time at Sixways.
He made a total of just 36 first-team appearances for Warriors in three season. He scored eight tries.
Born in New Zealand to an English mother, Te’o has 18 caps for England and featured for the British and Irish Lions in their Test series versus New Zealand in 2017.
But with the former South Sydney Rabbitoh set to turn 33 before the 2020 Six Nations, the Rugby World Cup in Japan would likely have been his last hurrah for his adopted country.
There is some hope for Te'o's England chances. Jones said of those left out of the 33-man squad for Wales: “Players excluded from being involved in this camp are naturally disappointed but may get another opportunity so they must be ready.”
Leaving selection aside, Te'o's ability to cover both centre positions could see him involved as an injury replacement even if he doesn't make the 31-man plane.
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Latest Comments
Think we have to accept we have been on the slide for a while now.Still interesting to see the repeated media pieces about the myth of the ABs slipping-I would say slipped past tense.In part don’t we have to give credit for the improvement of other nations particularly Ireland?Isnt that good for the game?Are we beginning to feel the impact of losing the Boks from Super rugby and maybe soon TRC?I would agree we are also ran right now so will be interesting to see how we progress-assuming we do!Isnt that part of sport though to be in improvement mode?Back to the stats though I think the Boks were under 60% leading into 2019?Now with the focus on the RWC does it matter so much what you are doing between tournaments?You just get through your group(remembering the ABs qualified 2nd in 2023)and then you have 3 matches to win the thing.
Go to commentsThe ABs have more than enough back line guys so don’t see issue there. Just the balance at center and feel time for Rieko to sit out.Forwards- balance still not right. Front row ok but miss Codie. But still ok. Locks- you now need to start s a tall timber at middle of lineout- Darry is the right guy. Then move Sititi to 8, move Ardie to 7 and then move Vaai to blindside. He can become the closest to PSdT . Then have proper bench as this is not a demotion but key to dominating last 30 minutes- Patrick, Ofa etc are golden here. Get the balance right between starters and finishers
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