British and Irish Lions

The World Cup winner would have started England's Grand Slam defence at outside centre but his involvement in the tournament was cut short after suffering an ankle injury.

It was initially feared he would miss the entire RBS 6 Nations tournament, but the damage was not as serious as first thought.

He has made a complete recovery which should allow him to feature for his club Bath ahead of England's next RBS 6 Nations game, against Ireland at Twickenham on March 6.

Qantas Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans says Quade Cooper could still line up against the Lions despite missing out on his 25-man squad this morning.

The Waratahs upset the odds by beating Super Rugby leaders the Brumbies 28-22, but the game came at a huge cost to Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

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.