Stephen Jones talks to a retiring Josh Lewsey about his ambitions to scale Everest in The Sunday Times.
"Josh Lewsey is retiring from all rugby. He has two games left for Wasps and a burning desire to tour with the Lions in South Africa. That will be that. When we met last week to discuss the retirement and his new projects he placed an A4 sheet in front of me. “There. That’s a guide in case I start waffling.”
"Lewsey may be one of the most fascinating and multifaceted people I have met but he is a man of such fierce focus that I never assumed for a second that waffle was on the menu. The impression was confirmed when he ordered breakfast with precision. It was the Grove Country Club’s full cooked spread, but accompanied, as he requested, by “mustard, tomato sauce and marmite”. The sheet had a row of arrows moving through a series of boxes, representing a career path, with each step explained under a small cloud logo bearing the word: “Why?” Box one said: “Wasps.” Box two says: “Lions?” The question mark indicated that selection is beyond his control. “I have never taken part in a winning Lions Test series. I would dearly love to go.”
"The next arrow pointed to the third box. “Everest”, it said. Not “put feet up”, then? Lewsey and Major Keith Reesby, a Lynx pilot in the Army air corps and a friend from Lewsey’s army years, are about to prepare for the ultimate challenge, an attempt on the summit of Everest, probably via the more difficult North Col route, in July next year. Those who do not know Lewsey will suspect that this is either lunacy or a publicity stunt. Those who do will expect him to make it."
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