With the news that Prince William is out with the Lions it looks like he is having an easier time than he had when he met up with our own Prince of Sevens Olly Jones at the St Andrews Sevens earier this year

Prince William trains with Lions

Prince William got better acquainted with the British & Irish Lions by demonstrating his rugby skills in a training session in Wellington.

The Lions are building up to the second Test against the All Blacks and the second-in-line to the throne spent an hour kicking with coach Dave Alred and fly-half Charlie Hodgson at the Basin.

The Prince, who will watch Saturday's Wellington Test as part of his 11-day official visit to New Zealand, was shown some of the practices and routines that players go through as part of their training.

He also got to have hands-on experience of kicking, something Alred believes the Prince will now appreciate more.

Alred said: "It is a great opportunity for William to experience some of the techniques and processes that the main kickers go through for their practice and preparation for games.

"I am sure that he has got a better understanding of the work put in by the likes of Charlie (Hodgson) and the other kickers."

Hodgson added: "I enjoyed the session, I was bit nervous at first with all the media there, you know that you get similar numbers at a game but you don't notice them because of the crowd.

"But we soon settled into the normal routine, like any other session. William was a very down to earth bloke, whose skill and accuracy improved as the session progressed."

This article was originally posted on 1-Jul-2005, 13:01 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 1-Jul-2005, 14:19.