Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall: A sporting chance at happily ever after

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Some athletes think they’re royalty (King James). Others have a much closer brush with the queen.

Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth, will marry rugby star Mike Tindall, captain of the England rugby team, on Saturday in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The couple met at a bar in Sydney during the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Maybe she was impressed by Tindall’s rugby skills -- England won the crown that year.

Photos: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall get ready to wed

Tindall, 32, was key in capturing that accolade, according to ESPN Scrum, and is one of England’s “most consistent performers of recent years.”

Thirty-year-old Phillips, meanwhile, is an athlete in her own right. She’s a top British equestrian, like her mother before her, Princess Anne. Phillips is a former world three-day eventing champion.

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-- Melissa Rohlin