London - Top British players Paul Sackey, Steve Borthwick and Shane Williams have appeared naked in an advertisement for sports drink company Powerade.

The players appear in different rugby poses with England captain Borthwick pictured as if he is about to enter a tackle.

His England team-mate Sackey is shown diving for the tryline while IRB World Player of the Year and Wales wing Williams is shown passing the ball.

Borthwick said he has had to put up with plenty of dressing room jokes since the photo shoot but was happy with how the images turned out.

"It is one of the most daring shoots I've been involved in but it has been loads of fun, even if it has given my team-mates plenty of ammunition for changing room banter," he said.

Last year the Powerade campaign, dubbed InnerGear, showed cyclist Rebecca Romero, triple jumper Phillips Idowu and swimmer Gregor Tait nude in sporting poses taken by photographer Nadav Kander.

The latest shots were taken by photographer Alan Clarke.

"Alan's images are fantastic and they really capture the essence of what we do every day," Borthwick said.