By PAUL MARTIN

Maggie Alphonsi and Danielle Waterman share 156 England caps between them but both would have traded a few for a chance to call themselves a British & Irish Lion.
The pair were World Cup winners in 2014 but it took another five years before conversations began around the concept of a women’s Lions team.
Former Red Roses skipper Alphonsi, 40, was involved in those discussions and what seemed at one stage distant ambition has now become a reality with the three-Test series in New Zealand in 2027.
“No words can describe how special it will be to see women wear the red jers...