Injury heartbreak for Hill

World Cup winner Richard Hill’s international career - with England and the Lions - was last night under threat after a devastating injury blow.

His hopes of making a third successive Lions tour - to New Zealand next summer - are seemingly over after he underwent reconstructive knee surgery.

Saracens star Hill, capped 71 times by England and a Test Lion in 1997 against South Africa and 2001 against Australia, faces between six and nine months on the sidelines.

He will be 32 next May, and is unlikely to play again this season, effectively ruling him out of Lions contention and putting a huge question mark over future England honours.