British and Irish Lions

England's World Cup-winning fly-half will not figure in the RBS 6 Nations Championship as he recovers from surgery.

In his column in The Times, the Newcastle Falcons said: "I cannot help to speed the rehabilitation process because it is the nerve that is damaged.

"Unfortunately it is a situation where getting up earlier, working harder for longer and making sacrifices will not change things.

"I'm trying to be most professional in my quest to come back fitter and stronger than ever.

"The operation was a success, the surgeons were brilliant, and for the first time since I was 16 I will play rugby with no neck pain."

Wilkinson, whose last-gasp drop goal helped England beat Australia to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy in November, added: "I see it as a brand new start, a clean slate.

"I have taken two days off since the injury and those were my two days off in hospital for the operation."

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.

Check out the video from the day the HSBC Cubs met The British & Irish Lions at the Vale of Glamorgan in a day they will remember for the rest of their lives.