British and Irish Lions

England flyer Dave Strettle put his summer woes firmly behind him as he took just 53 seconds of the new season to lay down his British & Irish Lions marker.

The Harlequins wing, dropped from new England boss Martin Johnson's first squad after a troubled time on and off the field with England in New Zealand this summer, helped his club kick-off their Guinness Premiership campaign with a 24-21 win over Saracens at Twickenham Stadium.
His try inside a minute of the start of the game was the first of two for the Quins' wings. Ugo Moyne grabbed the other try and All Blacks outside half Nick Evans marked his debut with 11 points. Fijian replacement Waisea Luveniyali completed the scoring with a penalty.
Strettle found himself demoted to the England Saxons squad by Johnson in the wake of the ill-fated New Zealand tour, but the try was just the tonic he needed to start his season.
Saracens also ran in two tries and featured 2005 Lion Michael Owen at No 8 for the first time and had England veteran Steve Borthwick making his debut at lock.

Lions skipper Sam Warburton says the lessons he and his Welsh colleagues learnt in Australia last summer will stand them in good stead for their return visit with Britain and Ireland's elite next month.

Tom Youngs has enjoyed a remarkable rise to the top of the British & Irish game but he won't be resting on his laurels ahead of his first Lions adventure.