Mike Tindall has joked how he wanted the Duchess of Cambridge to mess up when she took to the rugby pitch so he could tease her on the family WhatsApp group.
Kate showed off her skills and was lifted in a lineout at Twickenham last week after becoming patron of the England Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League.
But former England rugby player Mike, who is married to Prince William's cousin Zara, had to admit Kate looked effortless as she joined in a training session alongside players such as Leicester Tigers prop Ellis Genge.
Speaking on his podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, Mike admitted: "I text Ellis and said ‘mate, please tell me anything she messed up on’ so I could sort of, family WhatsApp group, get into her.
“And he said ‘No she was actually pretty good, and she was really good at kicking’ and I was like…”
Mike proceeded to give a large sigh and added: "But she has this competitive nature where she has to be good at things.”
His co-presenter Alex Payne agreed, saying: “She looked unbelievably natural.”
And Mike added: "Just imagine, anyone who’s ever tried it, getting thrown up in the line-out if you’ve never done it before is not easy because normally, you’ll kick the prop in either the nuts or the face as he’s lifting you and she just looked effortless.”
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The ex-player also joked: “The best thing is when it rolls to England and Wales, we get the battle of the Cambridges.”
It was revealed last week that Kate had taken on the two royal rugby roles, which were previously held by Prince Harry.
He had to give them up when he and wife Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals.
Kate had been tipped to take on both jobs and confirmed her new duties in a video, which showed her throwing a rugby ball to different players. At one point even spins the ball on her finger.
Meanwhile, Kate’s new affiliation with England rugby puts her in direct competition with husband William, who is the Welsh Rugby Union’s patron.
William and Kate, already known for their rivalry on sporting engagements, are expected to attend some England and Wales games during the current Six Nations tournament.
