Wales stars sent World Cup good luck message – by flock of sheep

A unique good luck message involving over 1,000 sheep has been created in the Welsh countryside ahead of their crucial World Cup clash with England on Tuesday evening. Rob Page’s men will go into the fixture knowing that only a win will give them any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages in Qatar after drawing with the USA in their Group B opener before falling to a disappointing defeat at the hands of Iran on Friday morning.

It will be a hugely difficult task for Wales to take anything from their match against England, who are firmly poised to qualify for the last 16 and have beaten the Dragons in each of their last six meetings in all competitions. However, there will be no shortage of support for Wales by their adoring fans back home, where an unusual message has been unveiled to send them all the best of luck ahead of kick-off at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

A campaign by Paddy Power saw a large number of sheep at Gower Salt Marsh Farm near Swansea arranged to poke fun at England while offering support for the Wales squad in equal measure. The final result was a short but succinct message, visible from a bird’s eye view, which read: “SHEEP > LIONS”.

The stunt involved the use of 1,200 sheep, which were herded into place before they were snapped by a camera from above to reveal the unique message that, it is hoped, will spur Wales on to victory over their English rivals in Qatar. Terry Medwin and Chris Jones, two surviving members of the Wales squad that reached the World Cup in 1958, were also on hand to mark the occasion and will be expecting Gareth Bale and his team-mates to put on a good show against England when hostilities are renewed between the two nations on Tuesday evening.

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“There’s no greater feeling for the Welsh than beating the English, no matter what the sport,” said Jones. “It’s so ingrained in our culture even the sheep know it! This giant message of support from our treasured sheep population will inspire the boys out in Qatar even more.”

It remains to be seen whether Wales will be able to secure a famous triumph over England at their first World Cup for 64 years, with an unlikely spot in the knockout stages potentially up for grabs if the Dragons can do the business. Page insisted earlier this week that he will accept nothing less than a strong performance from his players as they look to bounce back after their crushing defeat to Iran, who scored two late goals to claim the spoils after Wayne Hennessey was sent off in the closing stages of the match on Friday.

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“It’s out of our hands for going through, but we want to finish with a good performance and a win,” said Page. “We’re low at the moment, but we’ll get them back up for a tough game to finish with.

“We can’t sit and cry about it. Thankfully the game is just around the corner. We can go back out and give our supporters something to cheer about, they’ve shown a massive commitment to come out. We’ll bounce back, we’ll pick them up and we’ll go again.”

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