Saracens welcome Hill back to the fold

Richard Hill will definitely play at Vicarage Road on Sunday as Saracens aim to overturn a 16-point deficit in their Parker Pen Cup quarterfinal second leg tie against French side Montferrand.

Hill knows that Sarries' lowly Premiership position means that this competition probably represents the club's best chance of gaining Heineken Cup qualification for next season.

Certainly, if they manage to claw back the damage from last week's 26-10 defeat in Montferrand, the club of Olivier Magne and Gerald Merceron, they will emerge as genuine contenders for the Parker Pen title and the added money-spinning Heineken prize which goes with it.

Hill has not played since having his nose broken by Troy Flavell, the New Zealand Barbarians lock, while leading an England XV to victory at Twickenham on 21 December.

But surgeons this week gave him the all-clear to resume, and his fitness work over the last month will ensure that he returns as effective and massively influential as ever.

Saracens head coach Rod Kafer, though boosted by the prospect of Hill at last resuming his back row alliance with former All Black captain Taine Randell, is sweating on the fitness of key prop Cobus Visagie who missed last week's match with a back complaint.