Josh Lewsey
MBE
Birth nameOwen Joshua Lewsey
Date of birth (1976-11-30) 30 November 1976
Place of birthBromley, London, England
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight87 kg (13 st 10 lb)[1]
SchoolWatford Boys Grammar School
UniversityBristol University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback, Wing, Centre
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Amersham & Chiltern RFC
Bristol
Wasps
Old Fullerians RFC		 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1997-1998
1998-2009, 2011		 Bristol
London Wasps		 17
186		 (36)
(255)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998-2008
2005		 England
British & Irish Lions		 55
3		 (110)
(0)
Correct as of 1 September 2006
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2002-2008 England
Correct as of 1 September 2006

Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE (born 30 November 1976) is an English former rugby union player who represented England and the British and Irish Lions. Lewsey is a former British Army Officer.

Background and early life

Lewsey was born in Bromley, London to Welsh parents, but spent most of his childhood in the Hertfordshire village of Sarratt and spent his early years at Sarratt Church of England primary school. He subsequently attended Watford Grammar School for Boys[2] and then attended the University of Bristol on a British Army bursary, graduating in 1998,[3] and lived in the same hall of residence as three-time Olympian sailor Iain Percy; he was able to graduate after obtaining special permission to take his final exams in Australia as he had been selected for England's 1998 "Tour of Hell" in the Southern Hemisphere.[4][5] In 2009 he was awarded a Doctor of Laws (LL.D) honoris causa by the university.[4]

Military

Lewsey graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2001 and was commissioned as a troop commander into the Royal Artillery.[4][6] However, after two years of combining the Army and a professional rugby career, he found that doing both became impossible, and he resigned his commission.

Rugby career

While at school he played for the Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club and also Fullerians RFC as a pupil of Watford Grammar Boys’ Grammar School. He first played for Wasps at eighteen in their Colts side, before being selected for their senior team. In that season he made his first appearance for England, in the U19s against Italy.

During his time at university, Lewsey combined his studies with playing professionally for Bristol RFC. He then rejoined London Wasps at the age of twenty one after completing his degree. He won his first full England caps in 1998 against New Zealand and then South Africa.

In the following years, he was a member of the successful Wasps side that won 12 trophies, starting with the Tetley's Bitter Cup in 1999, in the final of which he scored a try.[7] The following year Wasps retained the cup, and in the 2000 final he again scored a try this time against Northampton, having spent the morning at Sandhurst with his platoon on routine room inspection, block cleaning and parade drill.[8]

Amongst his 12 trophies at Wasps were four Premiership titles in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. Lewsey played in all four finals, and scored two tries in the 2003 final and one in the 2008 final.[9][10][11][12] He also played in the victorious 2004 and 2007 Heineken Cup finals.[13][14]

After a good run of form with the national team, he scored 11 tries at the 2007 Middlesex 7s to help Wasps win their first Middlesex 7s title since 1993. He became the tournament's top try and points scorer.

On 5 April 2009, Lewsey announced that he would retire from Rugby at the end of the 2008/09 season. That year with Wasps he won Player of the Year, but was not selected for the 2009 British & Irish Lions team for the tour to South Africa.

International

Lewsey appeared for England in all three tests in the 2001 North American tour, and was a member of the England side that won the Hong Kong Sevens in 2002. He also represented England in sevens at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, opting to play in the tournament over touring Argentina with the National team.

Lewsey made his England home debut in the Six Nations Championship in 2003 after an injury to Jason Robinson. He scored twice in a 40–5 win over Italy. He followed this with the opening try in his next game against Scotland, and was part of the Grand Slam winning side. He had a key part in the tests against New Zealand and Australia on the June 2003 Southern-hemisphere tour. By then he was first-choice full-back, Robinson having moved to wing. He was a part of the 2003 World Cup winning squad, and scored five tries in the 111–13 defeat of Uruguay.

He was selected for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. He made an ideal start scoring two tries in the first five minutes against Bay of Plenty. Lewsey was widely viewed as a standout player for the Lions, despite the team's poor results. Lewsey continued to be an integral part of the England team at the 2006 Six Nations.

Lewsey featured heavily in England's campaign to retain the Rugby World Cup in 2007, playing in every game en route to the final. He scored the only try against France in the 14–9 victory which put England into the last two. However, just before half-time in the same match he picked up a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the final. That semi final was to be his last game for England.

England's coach Brian Ashton did not select Lewsey for the England squad to compete in the 2008 Six Nations squad. However, he was called up for Martin Johnson's England Squad for 2008/2009, but was not selected to play.

On 10 December 2008 Lewsey announced his retirement from international rugby to concentrate on his club career, ending his time in the England set-up, which spanned more than 10 years and claiming 55 caps with 22 tries scored.[15]

Due to his parentage Lewsey also qualified to play for Wales but chose to represent England as he had received a call-up from them first. His mother is from the Swansea Valley area while his father is half Welsh.[16][17]


In September 2011, Lewsey joined Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. as an equities sales trader.[18] After a year in the role he undertook a review of the division's structural trading model, and was subsequently offered the role of Head of Business Advisory Services, EMEA.

In 2017, Lewsey joined Ernst & Young as People Advisory Services Leader in Asia-Pacific.[19]


On 30 August 2013, Lewsey was appointed Head of Rugby at the Welsh Rugby Union.[20] After a comprehensive review, Lewsey embarked on a new strategy for the organisation of which a key initiative was support for the grassroots game, establishing School-Club Hubs to safeguard the future of rugby in Wales. By September 2014, the WRU had 43 schools participating in the scheme. By the second year it had increased to 93, which equated to most secondary schools in Wales. He resigned in November 2015, citing personal reasons which would prevent him from dedicating himself to the position full-time.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Aviva Premiership Rugby - London Wasps". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "Snow stops play as PE teacher bows out after 1000 terms". Watford Observer. 18 December 2010.
  3. ↑ "Prominent alumni: Sports and adventure". bristol.ac.uk.
  4. 1 2 3 "Honorary graduates 2009: Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE". bristol.ac.uk. 16 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Bristol University awards honorary degree to former student and rugby star Josh Lewsey". Bristol Post. 17 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "Life support". The Observer. 23 September 2001.
  7. ↑ "Wasps win Cup at last". BBC. 16 May 1999. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "Wasps deny Saints cup double". BBC. 13 May 2000. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  9. ↑ "Wasps romp to title". BBC. 31 May 2003. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "Wasps 10-6 Bath". BBC. 29 May 2004. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Leicester 14-39 Wasps". BBC. 14 May 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. ↑ "Guinness Premiership final". BBC. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Wasps 27-20 Toulouse". BBC. 23 May 2004. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Heineken Cup final: Leicester 9-25 Wasps". BBC. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Lewsey retires from England duty". BBC. 10 December 2008.
  16. ↑ "Welsh mum's England rugby dilemma". BBC. 4 February 2005.
  17. ↑ "Split loyalties let Josh Lewsey question England chances against Wales". The Guardian. 25 September 2015.
  18. ↑ Nick Clark (26 September 2011). "England star Lewsey set for a try as a Citi trader". www.independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  19. ↑ "Josh Lewsey heads People Advisory Services arm of EY in Asia-Pacific". www.consultancy.uk. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  20. ↑ "Josh Lewsey announced as new head of rugby". Welsh Rugby Union. 30 August 2013.
  21. ↑ "Josh Lewsey announces resignation as Wales' head of rugby". The Guardian. 11 November 2015.
  • Lewsey, Josh (2009). One Chance: My Life and Rugby. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-1-905264-53-7.
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