LONDON (Reuters) - Ben Te’o has agreed a short-term deal with Toulon following his omission from England’s Rugby World Cup squad, the French Top 14 club said on Wednesday.
England coach Eddie Jones left the centre out of his 31-man squad last week, and Te'o will now be unavailable for selection as an injury replacement because the Rugby Football Union does not consider foreign-based players.
The 32-year-old was excluded from the final week of England’s training camp in Treviso following an altercation with team mate Mike Brown.
New Zealand-born Te'o, a former rugby league player in Australia, was made to apologise to his team mates in March after a late-night drinking session at the end of the Six Nations.
He will bolster Toulon’s ranks for the next three months, providing cover while the World Cup runs from Sept. 20 - Nov. 2.
The experienced centre, who has been capped 18 times by England, will undergo a medical on Friday before joining the squad for training next week.
Te’o left English Premiership side Worcester Warriors at the end of the 2018-19 campaign season after three seasons at Sixways.
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Ed Osmond)
