AS HE PREPARES to pull on the famous Barbarians jersey for his last outing on English soil, Josh Lewsey has hailed all that makes rugby great.

"The best things about rugby are fun, enjoyment and companionship," he told today's RFU podcast.

"To me these are exactly what Barbarians rugby is all about. I've never had the opportunity to represent the famous team before and it seems ironic that my chance has finally come against England."

Lewsey will shortly hang up his boots for good, concentrating instead on his family and forging a successful business career - but not before he's climbed Mount Everest!

"We had our first mountaineering training session out in Bavaria last weekend. Straight in at the deep end, we had to scale 500 feet of sheer rock face to scale.

"It was first time I've been genuinely frightened in a few years and a bit of shock to the system, especially with the realisation that I'm not all that fond of heights!

"But I wanted a new challenge and I felt time was right." But it's not all extreme challenges, as the World Cup winner admits.

"I'm also very much looking forward to starting a 'proper job', wearing a suit every day and commuting every day."