We always knew there was something special about this place.

But on Thursday the warm glow of success was radiating through the town with just a little more heat as Maidstone played host to not one, not two but three world cup winners.

Whether it was down to the Moon's transit in Virgo or some other alignment of astrological bodies, we just don't know, but yesterday saw the coincidental arrival of three stars from England's victorious football and rugby campaigns of 1966 and 2003.

The lucky occurrence saw England's 1966 right-back George Cohen (right) turn up in Maidstone just hours before the arrival of rugby heroes Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood (above), both of whom played in England's epic and victorious encounter with Australia in the 2003 World Cup final.

For the rugby stars, Maidstone was the halfway point on a 2,800km bike ride in aid of Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation, while George Cohen was in town to show off a giant England shirt, signed by former football stars, which is to be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.

In a further coincidence, George Cohen's nephew, Ben, played alongside Dallaglio and Greenwood in the 2003 final.

The rugby stars later dined at Pizza Express in Earl Street, together with 100 fellow cyclists, including former French rugby captain Raphael Ibanez and ex-Arsenal and England right-back Lee Dixon.

The hungry group packed away an incredible 200 pizzas, with PizzaExpress reporting they had to cook three times more food than they would do normally for a buffet night.

"I couldn't believe how much they ate," said one shell-shocked staff member.