Fans make epic journeys to watch Wales in action
THEY have come from far and wide to fill the stadiums, bars and hotels of France.
And, as dedicated Welsh fans congregate in Lyon ahead of tonight’s Euro 2016 semi-final with Portugal, they will share their tales of how far they have travelled, how much money they have spent, and how many favours they have begged to be there.
Travelling fan Michael Hopkins has made an epic 10,000-mile pilgrimage from his home in Australia to be at the game.
Michael, originally from Treorchy in the Rhondda, thought he might have been the furthest-travelling Welsh fan – until the stranger who sat next to him on the flight from Melbourne asked him: “All right butt?”
It turned out the stranger was fellow Welshman Keith Larrad, originally from Mumbles, who was also making the monster journey from Australia to France.
Speaking on Tuesday, Michael said: “I got on the plane, sat in my seat, and this big guy started walking towards me – literally he was about 6ft8 and 145kg.
“He said to me ‘All right butt?’ and as soon as he said it I knew he was Welsh.
“He asked me where I was from and I told him Treorchy and he said ‘No way, I’m from Mumbles!.’ We started talking and got on like a house on fire.
“I’ve even spent my whole day having a drink with him in France today and we’re catching up later tonight.
“The odds of that happening must be astronomical – especially because it turns out he only lives around five miles away from me in Melbourne.
“I’ve probably made a friend for life there and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. We’ll definitely be meeting up back in Australia too.”
Michael has been living in Melbourne for the past 20 years and said he couldn’t pass up the chance to go to France.
“There’s a number of reasons I decided to make the trip,” he said.
“Number one is that it’s a once-in-alifetime opportunity; number two is that my dad died 15 months ago and it was his dream to see Wales play in a major sporting tournament; and number three is that my cousin played in the 1958 tournament.
“The game means a lot to me on a number of levels and it’s just something that might never happen in my life ever again.
“The words Together Stronger mean so much and I wouldn’t have travelled all this way if I didn’t believe in Wales and their ability to win the championship.”
Shaun Lawthom, who’s originally from Ystrad in the Rhondda but now lives in Vancouver, Canada, has travelled more than 5,000 miles for the game.
Having travelled back to Canada from Toulouse after Wales’ victory over Russia, which saw him overcome by emotion, Shaun “put the wheels in motion” by taking out a loan and booking his flight.
He then had the daunting task of telling his boss on Monday – and went straight from work to the airport.
“Well journey-wise it’s a 10-hour flight from Vancouver to Gatwick then two connecting buses from Gatwick to Dover, which is four hours.
“Then I have to wait six hours for a bus from the Rhondda and head to Lyon from there before returning to Wales after the game – then back out from Wales for the final. I’ll fly back to Vancouver on Tuesday and make it back to work by Wednesday.”
He added: “People think I’m mad for doing it but I think they are mad for missing it.
“My boss turned out to be amazing and he said ‘I understand it’s once in a lifetime so go enjoy yourself and I’ll see you a week Wednesday.’”
Another fan from Down Under in Matthew Cook, from Brisbane in Australia, who made a pilgrimage of more than 16,000 miles for the game.
Matthew, from the Rhymney Valley, has been living in Brisbane for the past 21 years – last visiting his family in New Tredegar nearly four years ago.
But now the 42-year-old has made the trip, travelling for more than 24 hours to support his homeland in one of the nation’s biggest sporting dates in decades.
He said: “It’s been great to see the whole of Wales joining together and the atmosphere looks like it’s been amazing. But I’ve had enough of just looking at it now – I want to be a part of it. Plus I’m sick of seeing all my friends posting pictures on Facebook and I’m not in them.”