Barry couple take Six Nations trophy to Millennium Stadium (From Barry And District News)

Barry couple take Six Nations trophy to Millennium Stadium

4:10pm Friday 22nd March 2013 in News

A BARRY couple managed to get their hands on the Six Nations trophy ahead of the tournament finale at the Millennium Stadium last weekend.

Husband and wife Mike and Pat Nicholas, who own Bay Island Voyages, were given the honour of transporting the silverware from Cardiff Bay to the Taff’s Mead Embankment ahead of the Wales v England match on Saturday (March 16).

It is not the first time the company has been chosen to assist prestigious events, as they have previously taken the FA Cup to the 74,500 capacity stadium while the new Wembley was being built. Pat, who lives on Barry Island, said: “I thought the trophy would be bigger than it actually was.

“I was just worried that someone would drop it and it would have a big dent on it before we got there!

“It was really nice to be involved though.” In the past the company, which runs speedboat trips around Cardiff Bay and out to sea, has also been asked to transport various celebrities.

“We have had Eamonn Holmes, Shane Warne and a few other people on the boat.

“It’s a big privilege to be involved in these sort of things.”

Mike Nicholas added: “We were contacted last Thursday and asked to take some celebrities to the stadium on the speedboat, but not to mention anything about it. It was all very hush hush, so the rumour machines immediately went into overdrive as to who it could be. My money was on Tom Jones or some other notable expat, so it was all very exciting.

“You can imagine our surprise then when two security guards turned up at our trailer on Cardiff Bay carrying the cup!”

He added: “Phoebe our 15-year-old golden retriever was not impressed as it didn’t contain food but our crew couldn’t wait to get their hands on it!”

Skipper for the day was the couple’s son Richard Nicholas, with crewman Henry Morgan and receptionist Michelle Yaxley also given the chance to hold the iconic trophy.

Mike added: “The cup was duly delivered to the stadium and handed over to the waiting military escort at Taff`s Mead Embankment.

“We’ve done a few big events now, including the FA Cup, the Extreme Sailing Series held in Cardiff last year and so forth. Cardiff is fast becoming a Mecca for big occasions and with projects like the Skyflyer and International Sports Village, things can only get better for small family businesses like us, able to capitalise on global events.”