A THRILLED shopworker plucked up plenty of Dutch courage to make a special World Cup presentation.

After winning a competition to watch two games at the finals in South Africa Dai Hancock from Wrexham was offered the chance to present the Man of the Match award to Holland’s Wesley Sneijder after his side’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil.

Dai, a Newcastle United fan who works at the Asda store in Wrexham, decided to follow Holland throughout the rest of the tournament.

He said: “It was fantastic, out of this world. It is something somebody of my age can only dream about.

“They really looked after us. We met people from all nationalities. There was a real mix of people.

“I did not know I was presenting the award until half way through the first half when a FIFA representative told me. I didn’t have another drink after they told me. It was so exciting.”

He managed to bag the trip alongside fellow member of staff, Paul Andrews, also of Wrexham, after winning a sales competition organised by Budweiser.

During the five-day trip the pair watched Spain’s 1-0 win over Paraguay at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg as well as the Holland match at Port Elizabeth.

Dai, 62, who moved to the area from Newcastle 32 years ago, watched last night’s
World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain at the Hand Hotel in Chirk and was rooting for Holland.

He said: “My wife, Ann, was really happy for me. She had the family round to watch the Holland game and they had a barbecue but they didn’t see me on television.”