APPRENTICE CLAIRE: My wild passion with Zara hunk

APPRENTICE Rottweiler Claire Young last night revealed she had a passionate teenage ruck with the rugby ace lover of Zara Phillips.

And she told of her heartbreak when randy Mike Tindall told her YOU'RE FIRED so he could chase other girls.

In an exclusive interview with the News of the World, gobby Claire-runner-up to CV faker Lee McQueen-said: "Mike had an amazing body and was the most brilliant kisser.

"I was completely besotted but he had an army of girls who wanted him. I was upset when he ended it. He broke my heart."

After Mike, who plays for Gloucester and England, Claire, 29, went on to score with a string of rugby players. She revealed how she:

BEDDED a 25-year-old, 6ft 6ins player when she was just 16.

SNOGGED one-time England captain Nick Easter but then refused to sleep with him

KICKED hooker Richard Baker into touch because he wanted her to be a wifey who cooked his dinner and washed his kit.

Her first rugby conquest was Mike, who she fell for at 16 when she was at a private school in Wakefield and he was at the school opposite.

She smiled: "We started by snogging behind the bike shed. He was the first guy I ever kissed. We'd just got hormones and thought it was great. He was really funny and made me laugh-he still does."

But she wasn't laughing when he packed her in to experiment with other girls.

"He was very popular so was able to be a bit promiscuous," said Claire. Years later, she and Mike patched things up and remain good friends today.

She was even there when Mike, 29, decided to get serious with Princess Anne's daughter Zara, 27, who he met at the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2003.

Claire, who lives in Tooting, London, explained: "I had spent the weekend at his house. We'd had a big night out on the Saturday and he'd ended up with one of my friends. He was terrible at the time, a real playboy.

"But on the Sunday, he went, 'You know what, I've had enough of this, I've realised how much I want to be with Zara'."

Claire added: "From that moment on he's never looked at another woman. He and Zara are very happy together.

"It took a tough and gorgeous woman like Zara to tame him."

Mike and Zara now live together and Claire is confident one day they will tie the knot.

"They're definitely going to get married. If he messes it up I think it will be a travesty," she said.

Through Mike and equestrian star Zara, Claire has also become mates with princes William and Harry.

She said: "They're just normal guys. Mike and I are talking about having a joint party for our 30th-we share the same birthday. William and Harry will both be there."

But her guest list won't include England rugby star Nick Easter. She said: "I met him at a club in Chelsea two years ago and we had a cheeky snog."

But when they bumped into each other a few months later he was after much more as he asked to share a taxi ride home.

Claire said: "The cab reached my house and I yelled goodbye and jumped out."

But the cheeky flanker, who plays for the Harlequins and has captained the national side, got out of the taxi and followed her inside.

"He asked me, 'Can I sleep here tonight?'" said Claire.

"I said, 'You're not sleeping with me. How dare you jump in here thinking you're going to get sex'."

But he tried to win her over by parading around in his pants. She revealed: "He had the body to die for. To try to tempt me he started prancing around my flat in just a pair of Calvin Klein shorts.

"He had no shame. But I resisted the temptation.

"Now I'm known in rugby circles as the girl who made Nick Easter sleep on the floor. His ego took a bit of a bashing over that one."

Her first steady boyfriend had much more luck.

At 16 she shocked pals at her posh private school by dating another rugby player, who was nine years her senior.

She recalled: "I ignored all the posh schoolboys to go for this rough and ready 6ft 6ins rugby player.

"You're 16, you can have sex. I was switched on, so my parents weren't worried about it.

"He used to meet me outside the school and carry my bags for me. I went out with him for ten months but then outgrew him."

Her love life started to hot up again when she was at university and got a summer job as a rep for Club 18-30 in Majorca. "I had a lot of sex!" she said. The first two summers she dated a dancer. She said: "He worked at a massive show there called Pirates. Everyone wanted to go out with a Pirate. Mine was 25 and gorgeous, but a bit thick."

The third summer she was free to go wild. "Every guy went on the holiday with the challenge of trying to sleep with a rep. I did sleep with some, but I was picky."

She also admits it wasn't just the blokes she got physical with. "I used to host girl-only parties. We dressed up as schoolgirls and ran around finding men to pull their clothes off.

"I would kiss girls all the time, but I didn't go further," she said.

In 2004, Claire thought she'd met her Mr Right when she hooked up with yet another rugby player, Rosslyn Park's Richard Baker.

"He was the love of my life. People called us the Posh and Becks of the rugby club," said Claire.

They were together for two-and-a-half years and were planning to wed when she realised he wasn't the man for her after all. "He turned into a selfish pig. He wanted a girlfriend to cook his dinner and clean his dirty rugby kit. I thought it was bollocks and refused to do it any more," she said.

Claire is now wading through 500 job offers and dating THREE men-a trader in Tokyo, a businessman in Spain and a plumber in London.

"I've got a short attention span and still don't think I've met the man of my dreams," she said.

As for her dream job-she claims Sir Alan failed to pick her becase she's a woman.

"Strong, feisty women are not part of his make-up. He's more comfortable working with men.

"He didn't employ Kristina Grimes, he didn't employ Saira Khan, he didn't employ Ruth Badger and he didn't employ me."

And she's starting to think her failure to win the show was a blessing.

"It's his loss and he almost did me a favour. There are a lot of opportunities on the horizon.

"I want to set my own agenda and not be told what to do by him."