Welsh fan's ashes to be scattered ahead of W.Cup semi

A staunch Welsh rugby fan who died just before the World Cup will have his ashes scattered at Eden Park ahead of Saturday's semi-final between Wales and France. Barrie-John Partridge fought back tears as he told AFP he plans to sprinkle some of his father's remains before the crucial match starts, as a good luck charm for the team. "It's going to be a tough thing to do, but he was my best friend and this is the last thing we can do together," said the 30-year-old barrister, who lives in Auckland and is named after Wales and Lions great Barry John. Barrie Partridge, 59, had a history of heart disease and died in Auckland's Waitakere Hospital on July 30 -- just over a month before the Rugby World Cup kicked off. "I made a promise I would one day leave a part of him at Eden Park and decided I'd do it now, so he would be here in spirit," his son said. "He was a real character, loud and charismatic, and he always talked up Wales' chances at every World Cup. "After three heart surgeries and several falls he was trying desperately to hold on long enough to see the Cup out, but it wasn't to be. "I know he would have been over the moon with the team's performance and I'll feel him with me on Saturday. "He'll be there in a box in my backpack, but I'll have a pill bottle full of ashes in my pocket ready to sprinkle," added Barrie-John, whose mother, Vicki, travelled from Sydney for Wales's pool games and is returning for the final on October 23. Partridge senior -- originally from the small mining village of Gilfach Goch, north-west of Cardiff -- emigrated to New Zealand in 1986 but never stopped supporting the men in red. The former tighthead prop played a single match for Pontypridd before moving to Jersey. "Dad took me to see Wales v Tonga during the World Cup in 1987, when I was six, and we made a pact to go to every Cup thereafter," his son explained. "He lived for rugby and was obsessed with the Auckland Welsh Red Dragons, as club secretary, up to his death."