Mike Tindall reveals hilarious sliding door moment that allowed him to meet Zara | Royal | News
Mike Tindall has revealed the hilarious sliding door moment that led to him meeting Zara. Speaking at an Off the Ball Rugby event, former Rugby World Cup winner Tindall described how strange injuries sustained by his teammates during their successful campaign in 2003 set the stage for him to meet his future wife.
He reminded that injuries to two players meant that England international Austin Healey had to fly to Australia to play in the upcoming semi-final. But the miraculous recovery of two players while Healey was on his flight Down Under meant his services were no longer needed. Tindall said: “It lands on a Wednesday and the World Cup rules have weird rules so unless you’re officially part of the squad you’re not allowed to stay within a mile and a half radius of the hotel.
“So he was literally in a hotel by himself and me and Cozza took pity on that and decided to meet him for a beer.
“But it turns out I met Zara for the first time when I was at the Sydney Wharf Bar Hotel.
“So it was the best decision of Clive Woodward’s (England team manager) life and that’s why you call him Sir Clive Woodward now.”
Mike and Zara married in 2011 and have since welcomed three children together, Mia, Lena and Lucas.
He added: “We ended up getting pretty drunk. Then we realized we both liked getting run over. That was a good start.”
Speaking previously about the pair meeting, Tindall recalled: “He was on his gap year and was in Australia with friends, Clive had just told me I had been dropped for the semi-finals, so I went out for a beer with two other guys who weren’t playing.
“Zara was also at the same bar; we met but didn’t talk much. Then Austin gave me her number and said ‘you should text her, tell her where you are going after the final and she can come too’.”
Speaking while she was a contestant on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Tindall told her campmates that the pair had a lot in common despite being born in different worlds.
Describing how they met, Tindall recalled how the pair hit it off and went to a “local lunch” for their first real date.
