Excruciatingly awkward moment Six Nations Championship star tried to hug Princess Anne in mortifying TV close-up
Sione Tuipulotu scooped up the Calcutta Cup for his team
All eyes were on the Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland on Saturday, where Princess Anne handed Scotland’s captain, Sione Tuipulotu, the Calcutta Cup.
However, this moment of celebration wasn’t exactly smooth. In fact, a very awkward moment between Sione Tuipulotu and Princess Anne was caught on camera.
Did you spot it?
Princess Anne’s awkward Six Nations Championship
Scotland’s 31-20 win in Saturday’s Six Nations match at Murrayfield saw the team shoot up to the top of the championship table, before France won the Championship cup against Wales on Sunday.
Saturday was a time for celebration for Scotland and Princess Anne was part of the special moment as she handed over the Calcutta cup to a very proud Sione Tuipulotu.
His team called the cup their own for the seventh time in nine encounters – reclaiming the trophy after losing out to England last year.
Princess Anne was amid the rejoicing, following her return from attending the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
ITV Live footage captured The Princess Royal as she passed Scotland’s captain the renowned silverware.
As Sione was faced with Princess Anne, he gleefully attempted to embrace the royal, but a firm Princess Anne placed her hand on his shoulder and had a brief word with him before giving him the trophy.
Sione Tuipulotu’s almost rule-break with Princess Anne
Unsurprisingly, eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out the blunder and the clip was shared widely online.
Despite the faux-pas, Princess Anne looked overjoyed and smiled happily at the team.
Traditionally, unless offered by the royal, people aren’t allowed to touch a member of The Firm. In fact, similar behaviour, like when James Corden touched Queen Camilla on the arm during a conversation, has been deemed as “disrespectful” by onlookers.
Thankfully, this briefly awkward moment didn’t rain on Sione’s parade.
Speaking afterwards, he told BBC Sport: “I’m extremely proud. To go through what we went through last week really hurt and we understood because we deserved it. Ultimately Italy were better than us. We really felt like our backs were against the wall and we showed up today. I felt guilty. Head coaching is a hard job because when it is going well you get all the positives but when it is not going well you get all of the criticism.
“We got behind our coach this week. I’m proud of the boys for getting behind our coach and delivering a performance.”
Princess Anne was ecstatic
Elsewhere, speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, body language expert Darren Stanton has also chimed in on how Anne reacted to Sione’s attempted embrace.
“Princess Anne is pretty down to earth. She was ecstatic to be there and was flashing a genuine smile. The captain is caught up in the dopamine and adrenaline rush in the situation. He goes in for the big hug and there’s a point when she doesn’t want it, but did find it funny.
“She was not offended by him. But by tapping him on the shoulder she signalled ‘That’s far enough.’ Anne has a great sense of humour and was amused and flattered in a way by the fact that he tried to go in for a proper bear hug.”
Meanwhile, a moment where Anne showed off her humble nature whilst observing another Six Nations Championship fixture has been pointed out.
Princess Anne’s humble nature on display
On February 7, Anne watched Scotland Vs Italy at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. There, she garnered an outburst of cheers when a camera focused on her in the stands.
At first, when the princess heard the uproar she looked rather perplexed. But when she realised the cheers were for her, she smiled warmly.
Anne then appeared to share a few words with the person beside her.
According to lip reader Jacqui Press, as per MailOnline, Anne’s reaction showed off her endearing humility.
Anne’s ‘humility’ centre stage
Anne appeared to say: “Oooh, wonderful to watch,” although who she is referring to is unclear.
Anne added: “They were watching someone else…they should follow her.”
It seems that Anne wished the focus wasn’t on her and that instead someone else was deserving of the cheers. How sweet!
Fans took to social media to dub Anne a “class act,” and gushed over her “dignity and grace” in that moment.
One also noted that the princess “didn’t realise the cheers were for her till someone told her”.
