England boss Eddie Jones: Ben Te’o will not end up a union flop like Sam Burgess
Cross-code star could make a shock debut against Australia at inside centre on Saturday and boss is expecting big things
EDDIE JONES is certain that Ben Te'o will not end up a rugby league flop like Sam Burgess.
Cross-code star Te'o could make a shock debut against Australia at inside centre on Saturday.
- Ben Te'o is coming back from injury but could be unleashed on Aussies midfield
- Cross-code star Te'o chats to the team doctor as his England team-mates train
And Jones is confident that the Leinster star will not give up like his former league team-mate Burgess.
The Red Rose boss said: “Burgess was a non-event in England’s confused strategy at the World Cup.
"He would have been an excellent Test player if he’d had the will to stick at it. Rugby league is not a skilful game, it’s a game where you’ve got to hurt people.
"Tough guys like Te’o bring something extra to a squad, a bit of an intangible, plus he’s done the hard yards in 50-odd games for Leinster.”
- Powerhouse Teo has plenty of experience in the 15-man code with Leinster
- Sam Burgess was made a scapegoat for England's World Cup flop which cost former boss Stuart Lancaster his job after a miserable group-stage exit
Jones turned Wallabies battering-ram Wendell Sailor from league superstar into a union great - as well as Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri.
The Aussie boss considers league as “the most physical game in the world” and that Te'o's standing in the game meant that he had to move quick to wrestle him from “the claws that Michael Cheika had all over him.”
Qualifying for New Zealand, Australia and England - Jones acted fast so that his mate Cheika didn't get him for the Wallabies.
And he added of the 29-year-old: “I have high hopes for Ben Te’o.
“He can mix it up with a good short-passing game, can off-load in contact like a more athletic version of (former Wallaby centre) Rod Kafer and he can hit.”
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ENGLAND will crash after the initial Eddie Jones boom - according to his old team-mate Phil Kearns.
Ex Wallabies captain Kearns stuck the boot into "fanatical'" Jones who he fears will run his players into the ground after an initial period of success.
Kearns reckons Jones will make, then break his Red Rose stars.
He said: "I think he will do both. It will be interesting to see how over time the Pommies go.
"I think in the short term they will be incredibly successful over the next two to three years - the big question is what happens after that? He is a very astute coach but there is a point where the fanatical work ethic goes too far."
- Phil Kearns has criticised Jones methods in terms of their long-term results
- Jones is known for his intense approach to coaching which can be exhausting
No nonsense Jones is known as a slave driver amongst his players and is a relentless coach with excruciatingly high standards.
Kearns added: "There's not a lot of people in the world of Eddie Jones.
"There's one bloke - and that's him. That's his world. I actually think he is a good guy.
"But he is massively intense, massively hard working and he ensures his team works hard to the point - I have heard - of overtraining them and really pushing them to the limit.
"I have heard a couple of the guys in the Japan team say they would never play under him again because they could not keep up with the workload it was so intense."