JOSH Lewsey retired from international rugby on Wednesday and used the occasion to pay tribute to the Amersham & Chiltern RFC coach who encouraged him to reach for the stars.

The World Cup winner, with 55 caps and 22 tries for England, said: “If I was writing a book I’d dedicate a lot to some of the guys who mean a lot to you in your life, and one of those is Richard Rivett, who was my coach at Amersham & Chiltern and in many ways a bit of a mentor to a troublesome young child.

“I had my happiest days as a child at Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Club so it would be to him and also John Williams, who was my school teacher [Watford Grammar School].

“I’d like to believe I’m quite a loyal person and those guys have been very, very good to me. Wherever I am I try and keep in touch with them.”

Rivett coached the Wasps star for a decade and the former Harlequins fly half was the first genuine influence on Lewsey the player.

Rivett, now 60, said: “I coached him for about ten years. He always had that natural authority and I made him my captain when he was eight.

“He was in a very good team which won just about every tournament they entered, but he was always the boss and playmaker. Everyone just gave him the ball.”

And Rivett thinks he knows exactly why Lewsey singled him out in front of the national media on Wednesday morning.

He said: “When he was about 13 he asked my advice as to whether he should take rugby seriously.

“I can still remember it. It was after training and we were walking across the playing fields at Weedon Lane towards the club house.

“He asked if he should make a career out of rugby. I looked him in the eye and said he had the talent to make it to the very top, but only if he had the mindset to make it happen.

“I said he had to damn well want it. He had a rare talent. I’d never seen anybody as good as him so I really meant what I said.

“I think that’s all he wanted, someone to give him the confidence to believe in himself and someone to validate his talent – you think you’re good, but you don’t know how good and you need to hear it from someone with a bigger picture.

“There was definitely a change in him after that.

“He became fitter, he ate the right things, he read the right books and spoke to the right people. He took himself much more seriously and was very focussed.

“But when I said he could get to the very top, I was probably thinking about a few England caps – certainly not becoming a World Cup winner.

“So I’m extraordinarily proud of him. It’s reflected glory really and it’s very satisfying for me personally. I just sit back and say that’s the job of a mentor, to nurture talent like that and help it fulfill itself.”

Amersham and Chiltern chairman Chris McCombie said: “Josh came up through the junior and minis here and we’ve got pictures of his on the wall. He’s donated signed Wasps and England shirts plus his last Lions shirt.

“We are so proud to have a World Cup winner and MBE as a member and he’s always maintained close ties with the rugby club. He feels it’s his natural rugby home.”

Lewsey made his England debut against the All Blacks in 1998 and played his final game in the World Cup semi-final victory over France last year, when he scored the winning try.

The pinnacle came in 2003 when he played full back in England’s World Cup Final victory over Australia.

He said: “People say it takes a long time to sink in, it didn’t take a long to sink in for me when we’d just won the World Cup.

“Apart from calling yourselves World Champions, you’ve made your nation proud of the side and I think that is the greatest reward any human can have.”

* A few days after returning from the 2003 World Cup Lewsey presented Rivett with his shirt from the England v South Africa game, on which he inscribed his thanks.