Prince Harry: I'm still like a dog with a tennis ball whenever I get near rugby

Prince Harry may have hung up his rugby boots but the former school scrum half has described himself as like a "Labrador with a tennis ball" whenever he sees a rugby ball.

Harry's confession came when he visited Twickenham Stadium to celebrate grassroots clubs and charities using rugby for good -
and saw the England team as they trained for their Six Nations clash with Scotland.

Before stepping onto the south-west London pitch to watch the national stars train in front of an invited audience of around 10,000 people, he met organisations that have received grants from the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) Try For Change Fund.

Harry, the RFU's patron, and England's Rugby World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson chatted to teenagers supported by the Plymouth Sports Charity who have been learning rugby coaching to encourage their personal development.

Quizzed about his own rugby background, Harry said: "I played for years, 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 said he did not play any more after "numerous injuries", adding "But I'm like a Labrador with a tennis ball as soon as I see a rugby ball".

The prince told the young coaches: "Honestly, it's guys like you... you're now the ambassadors for the sport and the difference it makes.

"We can spend as much time as we can trying to drill it into people but you're it and the fact it works and makes a difference and is so simple - the most important thing is that development and you are having fun at the same time."

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