BEN TE’O HAS put any aspirations of returning to the England squad on the backburner having signed for Super Rugby side the Sunwolves.

The 32-year-old has won 18 caps for England but was left out of the squad for the recent Rugby World Cup, where Eddie Jones’ side made it to the final only to be beaten by South Africa.

Ex-Leinster centre Te’o, born in New Zealand to a Samoan father and an English mother, signed a short-term deal with Top 14 club Toulon following his omission and an England recall appears further from his mind now he has moved to Japan.

Under the Rugby Football Union’s international selection policy, players who ply their trade overseas cannot be picked for the England team.

The 2020 Super Rugby season – which is set to be the Sunwolves’ final campaign in the competition because of a dispute over their involvement – begins in February.

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