England’s clash against Papua New Guinea was special for many reasons.
One was the fact it was a World Cup quarter-final on home soil, another was the attendance of the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton.
Kate was attending her first game since succeeding the Duke of Sussex as patron of the Rugby Football League and she certainly seemed to enjoy the occasion in Wigan.
Prior to the match, the Princess was very attentive in greeting everyone present, whether it was World Cup Chief Jon Dutton, England captain Sam Tomkins or the lucky children who were mascots at the DW Stadium, Kate certainly gave everyone the time of day.
And after doing all the pre-match necessities, she sat in the stand to watch England put on a show against PNG on a rainy day on the North West.
There were however two people that got to spend more time with the Princess than anyone else, and those two lucky individuals were England Women’s stars Jodie Cunningham and Emily Rudge.
Rudge, who had just played in England Women’s big win over Canada, dusted herself down to spend the entire match sat next to Middleton with her England and St Helens teammate Cunningham sat at the other side of the Princess.
And following the game, Cunningham took to her Instagram account to post a picture of the trio with a caption that went some way to express her utter joy at the opportunity.
She said: “Can’t quite believe the opportunity me and @emrudge have just had!
“Such an honour to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales and have the pleasure of watching England men v PNG alongside her!
“The women were outstanding today against Canada from 1-17 and this topped off what has already been an incredible start to the RLWC2021!
“Thank you to @rlwc2021 @rugbyfootballleague, @englandrugbyleague and the sport of rugby league for the incredible opportunities it continues to provide.”
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