After years of watching her mother delivering a Christmas message to the millions, Princess Anne chose a typically idiosyncratic method of getting in on the act, opting to give an interview to Rugby World’s Christmas issue in December 1986.
A fan of many sports, and a former Olympian, HRH was clearly ahead of her time, bemoaning the way in which rugby union in particular, but sports in general were turning away from their original instincts.
“It does seem that the bigger, heavier teams have evolved a sort of ‘heavy duty’ style of rugby which is the obvious way to win a game, or, at least, not lose it, and in some ways that does seem a shame really.
“It applies to other sports too, like football, where the emphasis is put upon not losing rather than taking more risks and going all out to win.”
Plus ça change as they say sur le continent. You can find the full interview here.
