Speedo'd William Torpedoed in Pool

By Simon Perry And Stephen M. Silverman

04/19/2004 at 06:18 PM EDT

He may go by the name William Wales, but when Prince William donned his tight-fitting, black and gray Speedos and revealed his lean, athletic physique this weekend, he was very much a Scot, PEOPLE's London bureau reports.

Always one to create a splash, William, 21, made his debut on the water polo squad of the Scottish national universities against Wales and Ireland in a round-robin tournament.

But his efforts, cheered on by the mainly female crowd in Cardiff, Wales, were not enough to help his side -- which lost to Ireland, 14-7, before being beaten by Wales, 15-6.

William, who is captain of the team at his St. Andrews University (where he is studying geography), wore No. 12 on his cap and entered the pool for the Scottish side in the second quarter of the game.

Up until then, the 6'3" prince had spent the game shouting support from the sidelines with the other substitutes, sometimes seeming self-conscious as he stood poolside in just his swimwear, despite his strapping good looks.

In the rough and tumble in the pool, William tackled and ducked with the best of them. Welsh captain Oliver Newcombe, 22, told reporters afterward: "He played pretty well. He gave as good as he got was the word in the changing room after the game. We didn't single him out for any special treatment."

Matt McGeehan, water polo coordinator for the Scottish universities, added: "William's an attacking player, which is good."

William played once in each of the last three-quarters against Ireland and was in the water for several minutes before he first touched the bright yellow ball.

Throughout the match he charged up and down the pool alongside his opponent, and at one point towards the end of the last quarter, clashed heads with Ireland's No. 10, Cathal Furey, in a battle to out-maneuver each other.

Despite his best efforts, however, William did not score on Saturday.

The three teams later had a dinner in a Cardiff hotel, and William, who arrived at the tournament in faded jeans and sneakers, is said to have chatted to team members from the other universities. His current girlfriend, Kate Middleton, was nowhere to be seen on Saturday.