"THESE are the best fish and chips I've had."
Those were the words of international rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio after cleaning his plate at Steel's Cornerhouse Restaurant.
He was there with the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) and students from their academies, Havelock, Humberston and King Edward VI after a day of coaching at Havelock.
Steel's served up a platter of scampi and filo prawns to start and 61 of their famous haddock, chips and mushy peas - as well as one sausage and chips.
"There's always one," joked Ian Stead, who runs the restaurant with wife Rachel.
"My parents owned this restaurant and I've worked here since I was 11 so I'm very proud that Lawrence came in and enjoyed it so much."
As well as enjoying the local cuisine, he answered questions about his careers and achievements in sport – among them winning the Rugby World Cup with England in 2003.
Mr Dallaglio also talked about what we all want to know – what really goes on when rugby boys go on tour.
"I've just been away for two days with my eleven-year-old son, Enzo, who went on a rugby tour with his team.
"We got off the coach and he ran to my wife and threw his arms around her and told her he had had the best two days of his life – her heart sunk.
"She looked at me and asked him what time Daddy got in last night.
"He said 'Mummy, what happens on tour stays on tour'. That made my day."
Yesterday, the legend spent time at Humberston Academy , as he did at Havelock the day before, as reported.
Humberston student Tom Holmes, 16, sat opposite Mr Dallaglio at Steel's.
He said: "He's a really nice guy and it proves that top sports legends can be just as approachable as normal people."
Jawid Hassani, 15, said: "It made me think that it's possible to get where he wants to be because he didn't even play first 15 rugby at school and there was no professional league."
David Ross, chairman of DRET, added: "We take enrichment opportunities in sport and other areas such as drama and music very seriously as a part of education.
"This visit from Lawrence is a great opportunity for our students to get some inspiration and is a great motivator.
"It will help our students understand what it takes to get to the top level not just in rugby but in whatever area it is that they want to succeed in."
Nigel Whittle, principal at Havelock Academy, said: "One thing he said that resonated was that England players started comparing themselves to the best three players in the world in their position in order to become the best. "It's the lesson that we try and teach our students - you won't succeed if you set the benchmark too low which is why we encourage them to always aim high." Humberston Academy principal Brian Sarahan is a lifelong rugby fan after growing up in Gloucester - a big rugby town in the south west. Mr Sarahan said: "Play rugby is all any of us did until we were 15 and I couldn't believe it when I found out we were getting to meet Lawrence Dellaglio - nor could the kids. "And what a great evening, particularly for the students who got to sit on the same table. They didn't know what to do when they were told where they were sitting." King Edward VI Academy principal Margaret Reeve said: "You rarely get to meet people of Lawrence's sporting caliber when you live somewhere rural but this has been a superb evening. "The students were really listening and you could tell he was speaking straight from the heart."Follow us on Facebook and Twitter