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Rugby fan Steve Richards holds his head in shock as he loses £30,000 he’d won just days earlier.

The roofing contractor had scooped £39,000 by predicting 12 football results on a £10 bet.

He then wagered most of it on Wales beating Australia at the Millennium Stadium at odds of 5/6.

The bet would have seen him win a further £25,000 but his team lost 26-30 on Saturday night.

But Steve, 56, of Tonyrefail, near Cardiff, wasn’t too down under.

He sighed: “I thought it was Wales’s time to win. I just lay in bed one night and I thought ‘go for it’.

“It looked like a good bet to me - I couldn’t see Wales losing.

“When they went 10 points up so early in the game I began to think I was home and dry.

“But in the end they were fairly beaten by the Aussies.

“It was agony watching it but with 10 minutes to go I knew my money had gone down the drain.

“My partner thought I was mad when I bet on Wales - I’m sure she will have something to say about it.

“I’m an easy come, easy go sort of person but I had to admit it hurt.

“I wouldn’t change it, even if I could, I’ve still walked away with £9,000 so I’m a very lucky man.”

(Image: Media Wales)

Steve was in the money last Monday when his £10 football bet came off at odds of 3,896/1.

Steve watched the defeat with friends at the Black Diamond pub, in Edmondstown, Rhondda.

He added: “I’ll probably put the money in the bank and just leave it there for a bit - there isn’t much I need it for at the moment.

“When it gets to April I’ll probably do a few things to the garden.”

Ladbrokes spokesman Alex Donohue said: “It was a nail biting finish and we’re breathing a huge sigh of relief.

“Steve is still nearly £9,000 ahead of us so we can’t be too smug though.”