Kate Middleton and Prince William Bring Surprise Guest to Rugby Game — Prince George!
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Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Prince William, Prince George and Kate Middleton at 2022 rugby game
Who will go home with royal bragging rights: Kate Middleton or Prince William?
The couple was in the stands for the England vs. Wales Six Nations game at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday — supporting different teams. While Prince William has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union since 2016, his wife Kate recently took over as patron of the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union. The role, which previously belonged to Prince Harry, marks the first of the Duke of Sussex's former patronages to be redistributed to another member of the royal family since Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their roles as senior working royals.
Prince George even got to tag along to practice his rugby refereeing skills.
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The Sunday Times' editor Roya Nikkhah was also in attendance at the event. She revealed in a tweet that Kate said George, 8, takes out his "rugby tackling" on her, while little brother Prince Louis already "loves the kit."
The Duchess of Cambridge says George is practising his rugby tackling on her and Louis “loves the kit” and has started taking his referee whistle to nursery. William says the sporting rivalry has become “quite the thing in the house” but he’s “trying to stay out of it.” 🏴🏴🏉👑 pic.twitter.com/NUvYK7MTQ0
— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) February 26, 2022
Nikkhah noted that the youngest of Prince William and Kate's three children has "started taking his referee whistle to nursery."
Earlier this month, Kate made her debut in her new rugby role by visiting Twickenham Stadium to meet players, coaches, and referees from the men's and women's squads as they prepared for the Six Nations Championships.
RELATED: Mike Tindall Wanted to Tease Kate Middleton About Her Rugby Skills on WhatsApp Family Chat
Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty
Kate, 40, even got in on the action by joining a training session taking place on the field by head England coach Eddie Jones. She participated in a line-out play, where a player can be hoisted in the air by their teammates to receive a ball after it goes out of the field of play.
The royal couldn't help but laugh as she was lifted, showing off her athletic abilities by expertly catching the ball and passing it to a player down below — and she was praised with cheers and applause following the successful play.
Kate Green/Getty Images Kate Middleton
Mike Tindall, a former professional rugby player who married Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara Tindall, later praised Kate's skills on his podcast.
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"I text Ellis [Genge] and said, 'Mate, please tell me anything she messed up on,' so I could sort of… family WhatsApp group, get to her," Mike quipped. "And he said, 'No, she was actually pretty good, and she was really good at kicking,' and I was like [sigh]. But she has this competitive nature."
Karwai Tang/WireImage Kate Middleton
Mike also hinted at the new husband vs. wife sports rivalry in the household.
"The best thing is when it rolls to England and Wales, we get the battle of the Cambridges," he said.
