INJURY BLOW FOR TE’O
Te’o is TWELFTH England star to suffer injury in training
BEN TE’O is the latest England star to be ruled out of the South Africa tour as Eddie Jones’s men suffered yet another training-ground injury.
The 31-year-old centre requires surgery on a thigh injury. He has aggravated the ongoing problem and will now miss the three-Test series against the Springboks.
He is replaced in the squad by Piers Francis, the Northampton Saints utility back, who scored twice for England in the 63-45 defeat by the Barbarians on Sunday.
Also called up are Gloucester full back Jason Woodward, as a replacement for the stricken teenager Cameron Redpath, and No 8 Nathan Hughes who travels instead of Jack Willis.
Wasps’ Willis, 20, was not hurt in training — rather he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the Premiership semi-final against Saracens which will mean he is out for 12 months — but a worrying trend of England players injuring themselves in camp is developing.
At least 12 players have been injured in Jones’s brutal sessions during the Australian’s threeseason long reign.
Last week prop Beno Obano, 23, was ruled out for a year after suffering devastating damage to his ligaments and hamstring.
In the 2016 autumn camp in Brighton, flanker Sam Jones shattered his leg while taking part in a judo session against Maro Itoje and has never been seen on a rugby field again, Jack Nowell tore his quadriceps and Anthony Watson broke his jaw.
Last year Marcus Smith, George Kruis, Jonny May were all crocked in training, and Bath trio Dave Attwood, Tom Ellis and Sam Underhill have all been felled in the past three seasons with England.
England fly to South Africa on Saturday in preparation for the first Test at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on June 9 — a venue where they have not won for 46 years.
And in the press release confirming the 34 men who will tour, no fewer than 24 are listed as ‘not available for selection’, either because they are injured or have been rested.
As Sportsmail revealed before the initial squad was announced, Nowell is one of those not going.
The Exeter Chiefs back played in the Premiership final but he requires ‘clean out’ surgery on a niggling ankle injury — and his partner is set to give birth to their first child.
Seven of the tourists are uncapped — Ben Earl, Nathan Earle, Jonny Hill, Dan Robson, Ben Spencer, and childhood friends from New Zealand, Woodward and Brad Shields.
Jones will be delighted to have his Saracens contingent back after the humiliating defeat by the Baa-Baas. The champions have 10 players on the trip.
And there is more good news at Saracens. Boss Mark McCall signed a new three-year contract extension yesterday which will take him past a decade at the club.
He and backroom team Alex Sanderson ( defence), Phil Morrow (performance director), Kevin Sorrell (backs), Joe Shaw (skills), Ian Peel (forwards) and Dan Vickers (kicking) have also agreed new deals until 2022.
McCall will now be an expensive choice if a Test nation — such as England or his native Ireland — come calling after the World Cup. SQUAD: Brown, Marler, Robshaw, Sinckler (all Harlequins), Cipriani, Daly, Hughes, Launchbury, Robson
(all Wasps), Shields (Hurricanes/ Wasps), Cowan-Dickie, Hill, Simmonds, Slade, Williams (all Exeter), T Curry, Solomona (both Sale), Earl, Earle, Farrell, George, Isiekwe, Itoje, Lozowski, Spencer, B Vunipola, M Vunipola (all Saracens), Ford, Genge, May, B Youngs (all Leicester), Francis (Northampton), Wilson (Newcastle), Woodward (Gloucester).