YESTERDAY’S England v Wales rugby match will leave an indelible impression on a builder.

Ahead of the match Welshman Ian Wynne, 50, from Hawarden Road in Hope, and Englishman Gary Holt, 45, made a wager.

In the event of a Welsh victory, Mr Holt would have to get a Dragon tattoo.
If England won, the tables would be turned and it would be a Red Rose tattoo for Mr Wynne.

And following Wales’s 29-18 defeat by their English rivals, a “distraught” Mr Wynne, a regular at the Red Lion in Hope where Mr Holt is manager, was already making plans to be inked.

“I’m gutted,” he said, “not because of the tattoo – because we lost.”
The friendly rivals decided to bet on the result of the big cross-border rugby clash back in December.

Mr Holt said: “It all began round about Christmas time and at that stage we didn’t know just how significant the result of the match could be.

“To begin with, it was just going to be about wearing the opposition’s shirt. If Wales won I would have to wear a Welsh shirt for the rest of the day and if England won Ian had to have the English shirt.

“But we both like a bit of banter and, since then, it’s escalated to this point, where one of us is getting a tattoo.”

Mr Holt said both men already sported tattoos so being inked wouldn’t be a new experience for either of them.

After England’s win, he was triumphant.

“I was never in any doubt,” he said.

“To be honest though, we burst out laughing at the end.”

And just in case Wales had been the victors, Mr Holt’s seven-year-old son Zach had already picked out a dragon from the internet to be inked onto his dad.

“We’re men of our word and proud of our countries,” said Mr Holt,”but it’s all been friendly banter. Eveyrone’s just been taking the mick out of us to be honest.”

The wager also sparked fundraising efforts for charity and by the end of the match £50 had been raised for a children’s cancer unit.

Mr Wynne who works at M&J Services in Wrexham said he was planning to go to Pen y Bryn on Tuesday for the tattoo.

He said the rose would be placed alongside the name of his wife, Yvette, who died of cancer last year.

“It’s appropriate,“ he said. “She was English – and she was my English rose.”