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I'm A Celebrity: Can Mike Tindall follow in the footsteps of his World Cup team-mates?

Some members of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning squad have gone on to have successful post-playing careers within the sport while others, such as Mike Tindall, have opted to go down a slightly different route.

WhatI'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here
WhereNew South Wales, Australia
WhenSunday 6th November-present
How to watchITV
OddsJill Scott 11/10, Mike Tindall 3/1, Owen Warner 13/2, Matt Hancock 8/1, Babatunde Aleshe 12/1

Take Jonny Wilkinson for example. The inspirational fly-half has become a regular pundit and analyst on televised rugby. Martin Johnson, the leader of the pack Down Under, went on to coach England for three years between 2008 and 2011.

However, plenty of those star players decided to make a move into reality television, with Tindall the latest following his stint on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

The former centre is now in the centre of the jungle as he battles to become the 22nd winner of the long-running entertainment series.

And, if he does get crowned King of the Jungle, he would not be the first of his rugby cohort to achieve success on reality television.

He is currently 3/1 to win with former England Lioness Jill Scott the current favourite at 11/10.

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Tindall seemingly a hit with viewers

The 44-year-old is one of the likelier winners and viewers have warmed to him due to his laid-back personality and strong-man ethos.

He recounted tales of meeting his wife Zara Phillips and has entertained viewers and fellow camp mates with stories of his relationship with her.

Tindall has yet to compete in any of the trials as voted for by the public, with Conservative MP Matt Hancock predictably being selected to go through the ordeals.

Ex-sports stars have had a good record of winning I'm A Celebrity with former football manager Harry Redknapp, World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty and England cricketer Phil Tufnell among those to claim honours.

Tindall's affable nature could stand him in good stead to join a host of World Cup stars to have won elsewhere.

Dawson breaks the mould

Tindall's fellow World Cup heroes have also enjoyed success on different shows, with 2006 a busy year for former scrum-half Matt Dawson.

He won the inaugural series of Celebrity Masterchef that year, beating off competition from former athlete Roger Black and radio and TV personality Hardeep Singh Kohli.

Then, he took part in Strictly Come Dancing, alongside Lilia Kopylova, and was a real surprise star of the show, having the highest-scoring dance in week seven.

He fell at the final hurdle though as cricket got the better of rugby with Mark Ramprakash winning.

Bracken skates to victory

Another England scrum-half. Another dancing show. Kyran Bracken went down arguably the tougher route as he took part in Dancing on Ice in 2007 alongside professional skater Melanie Lambert.

He attained the then-highest total ever recorded with his semi-final routine, scoring a very impressive 29.5 out of 30.

In the final, he triumphed over former Blue member Duncan James and Grange Hill actress Clare Buckfield before embarking upon a tour with Holiday on ice.

Vickery emulates namesake in the kitchen

Prop Phil Vickery became the second former Rugby World Cup winner to triumph in the kitchen as he won the 2011 series of Celebrity Masterchef.

He also became the second Phil Vickery to enter the public consciousness as a kitchen whizz in the UK with the other one regularly appearing on programmes such as Ready, Steady, Cook and This Morning.

Vickery (the rugby player) got the better of BBC journalist Kirsty Wark and Hollyoaks actor Nick Pickard in the final.

Cohen glides to glory

Winger Ben Cohen took part in the third series of The Jump in 2016 where celebrities took part in ski jumping and starred former British competitor Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards.

He was actually drafted in as a late replacement for Made In Chelsea personality Mark-Francis Vandelli after he fractured his ankle.

Cohen jumped furthest in the final with a distance of 18.25m to claim the prize. He was a mere 235 metres short of Stefan Kraft's 2017 world record in Vikersund.

With all this in mind, Tindall should be fairly confident of winning in Australia. And, who knows what opportunities could follow for other players? Will Greenwood on The Masked Singer? Neil Back on Celebrity Big Brother? Josh Lewsey on Celebrity Bake Off? The possibilities are endless.

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