England head coach was keeping his reasons close to his chest when quizzed on why Ben Te’o was left out of his Rugby World Cup squad.
The 32-year-old powerhouse centre, who has been a key member of the Aussies squads for the last two years, was overlooked in favour of Northampton’s Piers Francis.
This decision came two weeks after being involved in a scuffle with team-mate Mike Brown.
“I’m not going to go into reasons why he (Te’o) was not selected,” Jones said at a press conference.
BREAKING – England drop Ben Te’o from #rwc2019 squad @SunSport
— Jonny Fordham 🏉📰 (@SunJonnyFordham) August 12, 2019
Heinz ✅
Francis ✅
McConnochie ✅
Ludlam ✅
Te’o ❌
Shields ❌
Williams ❌
Ewels ❌ pic.twitter.com/Y4kieLVKAj
“We have had that conversation with Ben, he understands it. Whether he agrees with us or not is another matter. He’s not in our top 31 players at the moment.
Obviously a number of very disappointed players. We feel for them. They’ve worked hard and they are excellent players.
“The message we have for them is that they have still got to be ready because the circumstances of the World Cup dictates that you have injuries. They could have opportunities down the track.”