Prince Harry calls All Black Jerome Kaino (L) ''a baby'' after seeing his injured finger as he visits Auckland Spinal Rehabiltation Unit on May 15, 2015 in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry calls All Black Jerome Kaino (L) ''a baby'' after seeing his injured finger as he visits Auckland Spinal Rehabiltation Unit on May 15, 2015 in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry has told how he had to give up rugby after suffering "numerous injuries", admitting he still pines for the game like a "Labrador with a tennis ball".
The Prince, who attended a training session to watch the England rugby team prepare for their Six Nations match against Scotland, said he could not resist joining in whenever he was near a rugby ball, despite giving up playing properly himself, the Daily Telegraph reports.
In a morning session at Twickenham, he spent time with England players and met keen amateurs from LBGT teams, schemes to help young offenders and a charity which reaches lonely older people through rugby, saying: "Everybody of any size, any background, can get together, beat each other up on the pitch - within the rules of the game of course - and get together afterwards."
Prince Harry, patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), attended the England rugby team open training session at Twickenham in front of 10,000 supporters from clubs and schools in the stands.
Many of the young supporters are beneficiaries of Try for Change, an England Rugby programme which uses the power of rugby as a force for good to improve the lives of disadvantaged people.
The Prince met representatives from three charities in the away changing rooms: Sporting Memories Foundation, which pairs players with isolated older people for physical activity and reminiscence; Plymouth Sports Charity, which helps young people who have disengaged from school; and Manchester Spartans, an LGBT-friendly team encouraging first-time players to join in.
Asked about his own rugby career, Prince Harry told them he "played for years", adding: "I played scrum half for about five or six years until I got too tall and instead of being a forward I elected to be a fly-half."
He no longer plays, he added, because of "numerous injuries".
"I'm like a Labrador with a tennis ball,"he said. "As soon as I see a rugby ball..."
Speaking to teenager players who had turned their behaviour around thanks to rugby, he told them: "It's very easy to be shy and quite reserved as a kid growing up, but who would've thought getting smashed on a pitch, maybe not at your age, but going down the pub afterwards would give you friends for life.
"It's guys like you who are ambassadors for the sport. You are living proof that it works."
He added: "It's a social environment.
Photo / Getty Images
"The discipline is crucial, the teamwork, the respect for others. It doesn't matter where you are, it's all the same values. It brings the most amazing people together and opens your eyes to things you wouldn't really think about otherwise.
"They are values that, if you learn them through sport, are enjoyable.
"There doesn't need to be a goal, just have fun with it."
The Prince was greeted by cheers as he stepped out onto the pitch, observing from the stands for a while before joining Jonny Wilkinson and Richard Hill, England team manager, for a discussion about the team's prospects.
At one point, the Prince appeared to jokingly do some stretches, but chose not to join in with training.
Player James Haskell, who has known Prince Harry since they played cricket against one another at school, said afterwards: "He's been an unbelievable supporter of everything that is good about English rugby.
"It's great to see a smiling face. He's always got something positive to say and always ready to give a bit of stick when needed. You've got to love that.
"He'll say the right thing at the right time.
"What Harry does so well is that he's so accessible, and he does a great job of promoting sport, and coming down to the RFU today and the crowd having the opportunity to see the players and a member of the Royal Family just adds the icing on the cake."
Asked whether Harry could be persuaded to join in, he added: "I'm sure he would do. I don't know whether he'd want to go full contact, but he loves it. He's got a massive passion for sport, given half a chance I'm sure we could get him out for a bit of touch [rugby]."
