A key member of England’s rugby union World Cup winning team has retired from international duty at the age of thirty-two. Josh Lewsey, who has played for the national team a total of 55 times, has fallen out of favour with selectors recently as officials aim to test out younger players.

In the light of this new situation, Lewsey has decided to focus solely upon his club career with Wasps. He has not been in particularly impressive form recently for his club and this is something the player, who has very high expectations of himself, is keen to change.

It is a major decision from a player who made his Test debut for England in 1998. He quickly became a key player for the national side and, during his international career, he scored 22 tries. One of the most memorable of these tries came last year in the World Cup semi-final tie against France.

Unfortunately, Lewsey was injured later in the same game and was forced into missing the tournament’s final. The crucial involvement in the semi-final has proved to be the last act of Lewsey’s in an England shirt and it was perhaps a fitting end to an impressive, if somewhat underrated, international career.

Lewsey explained that he spoke to new England boss, Martin Johnson, about his future prospects in an England shirt, and was told that “he didn’t consider me to be an integral part of his immediate team moving forward”.

Despite this discouragement, the player still has hopes of participating in the Lions' tour next year. The Lions will travel to South Africa and the player will hope to be in with a chance of inclusion.