Tindall on the verge of fulfilling boyhood prophecy

He so enjoyed a sport that combined skill with rough and tumble play that he told relatives he would one day captain England.

Tomorrow night, that boyhood prophecy comes true when Tindall leads England out at the Millennium Stadium against Wales as captain of his country.

The Six Nations opener represents his 67th cap in an England career whose previous peak was in 2003 when he helped England win the World Cup in Australia.

Throw in an impending marriage to Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of the Queen, and life has not been at all bad for Mike Tindall.

From his early days as junior school pupil at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Tindall's path to the England team – if not necessarily the Red Rose armband – has been earmarked.

Starting as a seven-year-old, he played exclusively for QEGS until he was 18, after which time a spell on England Under-18s' successful tour to Australia earned him a contract with Premiership side Bath.

By then, he was the powerful centre that Gloucester and England now employ, but his journey to that position was almost as long as his road to the captaincy.

"He started as a prop, then went to the back-row and worked his way backwards," says Tindall's father Phil. "He even played scrum-half."

"I remember him as a No 8," offers Trevor Barker, the director of sport and master of rugby at QEGS, who coached Tindall during his schooldays.

"Then he moved into the backs because of his pace.

"But he's always been a big, powerful athlete and rugby's in the family blood."

Phil Tindall raised his family in Otley, the town he represented on the rugby pitch for many a year, before being relocated through work to Wakefield, when the opportunity to send Mike and his elder brother Ian to QEGS presented itself.

"I knew that if either of them were any good at rugby then at QEGS there was the chance they could move onto greater things," says father Phil.

"Mike benefited from being in a strong year group that basically stuck together from age seven to 18. They made national cup finals regularly.

"Mike was also a good athlete, he was always a good multi-eventer and got the highest points total at the schools athletics championships, but his passion was always rugby.

"He loves the rough and tumble of the sport.

"I remember him once telling a family member when aged five or six that he would play for and captain England's rugby team.

"Now he's doing that and we're chuffed to bits.

"He's always had the attitude 'I can achieve something if I want to do it'. He's always been someone who gives 100 per cent."

Tindall's big break came towards the end of his time at QEGS, although not through the normal route taken by so many of Yorkshire's internationals.

Barker continues: "Funnily enough, he was actually overlooked by the North of England Under-18s.

"Then an England selector rang me up asking if I knew of any good centres in the north. I told him about Mike and he was invited down to a trial with the Midlands Under-18s team, and the rest is history.

"He was on tour with England Under-18s that summer in Australia and after that he joined Bath."

Tindall initially signed just a one-year contract at The Rec in 1997, with the knowledge that if it did not work out for him he could return home and continue his studies.

Instead, he forced his way into Bath's first team and within two years was debuting for England in the Six Nations against Ireland.

Ten years on, he is captain of Gloucester and now Martin Johnson's trusted lieutenant in the national team, but for both his father and his former coach, the leadership role is one that did not come naturally to the 32-year-old.

"The captaincy is a role he has grown into," says his father. "Until you do it, you won't know whether you're any good at it.

"Mike's always wanted to captain his country, and what he's done in two-and-a-half years of captaincy down at Gloucester has been well received.

"He does a good job because he says the things that have to be said, which is what it's all about.

"He's been very philosophical about getting the armband, he's very pleased, but he knows the responsibility he's taken on, especially in Wales where there will be no quarter given.

"He's a calm guy, so hopefully if he can stay calm he'll keep the lads calm around him. And we'll be down there to support him."

Barker adds: "Mike was always more of a leader by example and it is a role he has grown into.

"He gets the respect of a lot of the players around him. He's not a leader in the vocal sense, but he's a thinker, a good tactician.

"He's not the loudest voice in a dressing room but if someone asks him something he'll be there first with all the answers."

Yorkshireman's proud climb to the captaincy

Mike Tindall's rise through the union ranks:

1978: Born, October 18, Otley.

1982-85: Attends Sandal Infant School.

1985-1997: Attends Queen Elizabeth Grammar School where he starts playing rugby for the school team.

1997: Signs one-year contract with Bath.

1998: Does enough in first year to earn another contract at The Rec.

2000: Having forced his way into Bath's first team, he wins his first cap for England against Ireland at Twickenham on February 5.

2003: Helps England win World Cup in 2003 in Australia, playing as outside centre alongside Will Greenwood. Played every game but the semi-final, when he was dropped to the bench for Mike Catt, only to be reinstated for the final.

2005: An injury-plagued year sees him miss out on the British and Irish Lions' tour, but also seals a move to Gloucester.

2007: A broken leg denies him a place in England's World Cup squad and the Premiership final.

2008: Returns to England set-up for Six Nations.

2011: Named England captain for Six Nations.

Six nations special: Don't miss Nick Westby's two-page preview to the tournament, featuring an interview with England hooker Steve Thompson.