Te'o named in England squad

Sun, May 22, 2016, 12:03 PM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
Ben Te'o is in line for his England debut. Photo: Getty Images
Ben Te'o is in line for his England debut. Photo: Getty Images

Former South Sydney Rabbitoh Ben Te'o has been named in Eddie Jones's England squad to face the Wallabies.

Te'o has been playing with Irish side Leinster in the Pro12 competition but recently signed a contract with Worcester that, along with his English heritage, makes him eligible for Test duty.

The former Queensland State of Origin representative is one of four potential England debutants named in the squad, along with backrower Teiman Harrison and props Ellis Genge and tighthead Kyle Sinckler.

Powerful Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi and Saracens flyhalf Owen Farrell have also been named in the 32-man squad, despite suffering a serious hamstring injury and a knock to the ribs, respectively, in the Tigers' semi-final loss to Saracens on the weekend.

Former Melbourne Rebel Danny Cipriani has been left out of the squad, after being initially included in a wider training squad before the Premiership finals, as has wing Chris Ashton.

Jones said he wanted this squad to create history, after a poor record in Australia, that includes never breaking through for a win in Brisbane.

“We are excited to being touring Australia in June," said Jones.

"To beat the Wallabies in Australia you have to play a physical, aggressive brand of rugby and that’s what we intend to do.

"We will need to be a fit, cohesive, tactically flexible team and play with a high intensity. We have to be in their faces from the first minute of the first Test.

“But we are in no doubt of the challenge we face. England have only ever won three Tests in Australia and never won in Brisbane, so it is a great opportunity for us to create new history."

England will come to Australia as underdogs, but Jones gives the sense he's not worried about that.

"We’re ranked fourth in the world and are still developing our identity and we have a long way to go to get to where we ultimately want to be. This tour will provide a good chance for us to measure up to the southern hemisphere and try to close that gap.

“Australia are the second-ranked team in world and their coach is the World Rugby coach of the year, so their supporters will expect a positive result from them. We will upset the apple cart.”

Manu Tuilagi has been named despite a hamstring injury. Photo: Getty Images

England 32-man squad for Wallabies Tests

Forwards

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)

Jack Clifford (Harlequins)

Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)

Jamie George (Saracens)

Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints) 

Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) 

James Haskell (Wasps)

Paul Hill (Northampton Saints)

Maro Itoje (Saracens)

George Kruis (Saracens)

Joe Launchbury (Wasps)

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)

Matt Mullan (Wasps)

Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)

Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)

Billy Vunipola (Saracens) 

Mako Vunipola (Saracens) 

Backs

Mike Brown (Harlequins) 

Danny Care (Harlequins) 

Elliot Daly (Wasps)

Owen Farrell (Saracens) 

George Ford (Bath Rugby)

Alex Goode (Saracens)

Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)

Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs) 

Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)

Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)

Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)

Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)

Marland Yarde (Harlequins)

Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) 

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