Tindall’s dilemma over rugby fan daughter
Former England rugby captain reveals his girls are fans of the sport, but eldest Mia backs rivals Australia
MIKE TINDALL, the former England rugby captain hopes he will not be the last in his family to play for England, he has said, as he admitted he was struggling to stop one of his daughters from supporting Australia.
The 2003 Rugby World Cup winner said his daughter Lena, five, already plays the game, but her sister Mia, 10, cheers for Australia, where the family spends time every year.
“Mia has a kinship with Australia and so she cheers for Australia as well which is slightly awkward when Australia are playing England,” he said in an interview with Telegraph Sport.
Tindall, 45, and his wife Zara spend time in Australia at the beginning of each year, as the couple are the brand ambassadors for the race horse auction house Magic Millions and its carnival is staged in the Gold Coast across 10 days every January.
The couple first met in a bar in Sydney in 2003, while Zara, now 42, was travelling around Australia and New Zealand on a gap year from the University of Exeter. They went on to get married in 2011 at the Canongate Kirk Church in Edinburgh.
Asked if he wants to see another Tindall play for England, he said: “It would be nice if we did but whether we will or not, I don’t know. I’m not going to force it on them.
“Mia is not in love with it at the moment, so we will have to wait and see. Lena still goes and plays, so watch this space is all I can say about it.”
Speaking about his two-year-old son, Lucas, he said: “The first thing he ever watched as soon as he was born [in 2021] was Bath versus Wigan back in 1996 as it happened to be on TV – he was 20 minutes old when he watched that.
“Hopefully he will watch a bit of rugby.”
Tindall said he and his wife would be more than happy to support their children if they decide to follow them into the sporting world.
Zara won an eventing silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic and was named 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year after being crowned world champion.
“We’ve talked about it and if there are any issues we will both support whatever they want. They can make their own decisions and as a parent you have just got to support them,” he said.
“I would love it if they were, it’s been such a big part of all of our lives. So it would be nice if we could keep that going through the kids.”
He added: “I don’t get to go to that many [rugby] games. England games I do. I took all my kids to Gloucester for the first time the other weekend – it’s something I would like to do a bit more – the old adage of the more they see it the more they will do it.
“It’s definitely with live sport you get passionate when you need to go watch it live. It’s something we need to do a bit more with them that I will watch those games live.
“It’s a great thing to share with the kids isn’t it, live sport. It’s the kind of thing I would like to do with them.”
Zara is the granddaughter of Elizabeth II and is 21st in line to the throne. Her mother the Princess Royal became an European champion and Olympian during her equestrian career.
Princess Anne triumphed at the 1971 European Eventing Championships. She is also president of the British Olympic Association and a Member of the International Olympic Committee.
The Tindalls live on Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Estate in Gloucestershire in the heart of the Cotswolds.
‘Mia cheers for Australia, which is slightly awkward when England play them’
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