Michael Cheika has revealed that Australia were unable to persuade Ben Te’o to pledge his allegiance to the Wallabies due to the financial rewards on offer in the Aviva Premiership.

Uncapped Te’o is part of England’s 32-man squad picked for the three-Test series Down Under and could start the Brisbane opener next Saturday if Eddie Jones deems his power is needed at inside centre.

Two successful seasons at Leinster has seen the rugby league convert lured to Worcester for next season and he qualifies for Jones’ Grand Slam champions through an English mother.

The 29-year-old played at junior level for New Zealand and represented Samoa in the international arena, but it is England who have succeeded in convincing him his union Test future lies at Twickenham.

“We would have loved to have Ben back here playing for Australia,” Cheika said.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to say that we tried to get him to come back and play in Super Rugby but as we’ve seen before, the English game has more money than we have.

“They’ve come in and have got a lot more resources to put in their game than we have. Sometimes you just can’t compete with the pound, that’s the way it is. I’m sure he’ll do very well for England.”

Te’o is competing with Owen Farrell, Luther Burrell and Henry Slade to start at inside centre at the Suncorp Stadium.