Sin Bin

Wales' loss to Australia cost Steve Richards the £30,000 he put on them to win, but he still ended up almost £9,000 up from a £10 accumulator bet.

Newspapers reported Richards' wager on Saturday but it was not as simple as him laying £30,000 at his local bookmakers. It was in fact the final part of an accumulator where he had correctly predicted the results in 12 football matches. Had Wales won he would have netted £40,000; as it was, he still ended up £9000.

"To be honest I don't see that £30,000 as mine anyway as I won it, so I haven't really lost anything," he told the South Wales Evening Post. "It was a bit of bad luck losing the bet but I'm still almost £9,000 better off than I was when I started.

"I've come so close to winning big money on a number of occasions and one time I almost won £238,000. I don't need to win the money though to improve my life as I'm very happy, and even if we did get a lot of money it would just be sat in the bank until we decided what to do with it. If I couldn't afford to put that money on the bet I wouldn't have done it."