British and Irish Lions

Borthwick captained the World Cup finalists to a narrow RBS 6 Nations victory over Italy in Rome last weekend, replacing stomach bug victim Phil Vickery as skipper.

But it is now Borthwick's turn to give England head coach Brian Ashton cause for concern.

An injury-ravaged RBS 6 Nations campaign has already seen Ashton lose the likes of Mike Tindall, David Strettle, Lewis Moody and Tom Rees.

And Borthwick's knee problem will now come under close scrutiny ahead of England tackling tournament favourites France in Paris next Saturday.

Borthwick, who suffered the injury against Italy, failed to come through a club fitness test on Friday.

He will be replaced in the second-row against Wasps by Peter Short, with centre Alex Crockett captaining the side.

Borthwick's England colleagues Lee Mears, Matt Stevens and Michael Lipman, meanwhile, all feature in the Bath starting line-up.

The Brumbies pair of Ben Mowen and Christian Leali'ifano will get the chance to follow in the footsteps of their team mates by beating the British & Irish Lions when they make their Qantas Wallaby Test debuts against the tourists in Brisbane on Saturday.

Rob Howley says having George North available for selection is a major plus for the British & Irish Lions as they go in search of the tries he believes will be needed to beat the Qantas Wallabies this Saturday.

Less than four kilometres away from the Suncorp Stadium, venue for the opening Test between the British & Irish Lions and Qantas Wallabies on Saturday, lies the grave of the man who took the starring role in the first international between the two teams in 1899.