The latest episode of Leeds Rhinos’ legend Rob Burrow’s podcast ‘Seven’ has seen Rugby Union World Cup winner Mike Tindall and his wife Zara Phillips appear, with the duo revealing the nickname of Prince William.
Tindall married Phillips, who is the niece of King Charles and granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, in 2011 and it was the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup winner who let slip to Burrow what exactly Prince William’s nickname is.
Burrow’s podcast has been centred around his iconic number seven and it features seven episodes with each guest asked seven questions, allowing Burrow to take control and ask the difficult questions.
Guests so far have included the likes of Wayne Rooney, Tindall’s teammate Jonny Wilkinson and Dame Kelly Holmes among others, but this week saw the first royal appearance.
Discussing nicknames and then referencing the drinking culture of rugby union and the era in which Tindall himself played, the centre revealed how Prince William doesn’t have the best of tolerance for alcohol leading to a surprising nickname.
Tindall revealed to Burrow and his wife Lindsey: “The Prince of Wales is known to me as One Pint Willy because he’s not the best of drinkers.
“He’s not the best but I’m coming from a sport where it’s built on the social aspect of a couple of beers being sunk quite often.”
Burrow could potentially be meeting with royals at some point in the future as the calls for both him and Kevin Sinfield to be knighted continue to grow, the pair fundraising and raising awareness around Motor Neurone Disease.
This December marks four years since Burrow was diagnosed with the condition and since then through Rob’s story and Sinfield’s fundraising efforts the pair have raised over £9 million to combat the disease.
Burrow’s podcast sees him take back control as he asks the questions utilising technology and he was keen to ask Tindall about him about the iconic memories of his career.
“I think playing against Ireland in the Six Nations in 2000 at home, you look up to the stands and your mum and dad are there. You have that full experience of it, on the Twickenham turf. I think that will always be my favourite rugby memory,” Tindall explained.
“Obviously 2003 and lifting the World Cup is an incredible memory but it was built up on lots of memories and an incredible journey along the way. I don’t think you can ever replace that first cap, I’ll go that as my highlight.”
One inspiring message came from Burrow though in which he reassured his guests, and those who listened in, that: “I want to let you know though that I am okay and I’m still fighting.”
That was a segue for the fact that Zara’s mother, Princess Anne is a patron of the MND Society, whilst Tindall’s father has Parkinsons. Tindall then opened up about his father’s condition.
“He probably had the symptoms for a year or two before that but, being a typical bloke from up north, decided to ignore most of them for as long as he possibly could,” said Mike.
“I look back now with the disappointment that I didn’t take more time to do more stuff then because I would have made him make changes.
“I wish I could have told my dad to exercise more, to change his diet and live a bit healthier and this could have led him down a different path.
“He’s 20 years in now. He’s never going to get better obviously. He’s only slowly getting worse.”
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