Ref. 27790-26MOST mothers-to-be would let fly with a volley of expletives if their partner said they were off to play football rather than attend the birth of their first child.

However, Rachel Cripps is happy to accept the excuse from her boyfriend as he happens to be Swindon Town goalkeeper Rhys Evans.

Rachel, 23, was due to give birth on Tuesday but the youngster has yet to make an appearance.

Rhys, 21, will be on duty for Town at Oldham Athletic tomorrow and he set off with his teammates this morning to prepare for the match.

It means there is a chance he could miss the birth but Rachel is not about to hold it against him.

She said: "Of course Rhys wants to be here but I am not annoyed that he has to go and play.

"You can't tell exactly when you are going to give birth.

"Rhys' dad will be going to the match so if anything happens, he will obviously be able to tell him afterwards."

Rhys said: "It might be the case that I end up turning up at the hospital with my kit and boots still on.

"Seriously, I want to be there as everyone tells me it's one of those special moments you have in your life."

It is not as if Rachel will be left to fend for herself though. Her mum is coming to stay for two weeks and both Rhys' parents and grandparents are in close proximity to the couple's home.

Once he or she arrives the couple do not know the baby's sex nappy-changing duties have already been agreed.

Rhys said: "Rachel will be dealing with the baby at night as I'll be the one working during the day to pay the bills. But don't worry, I'll be doing my fair share during the day."

Rhys, who comes from Swindon, is an England under-21 goalkeeper with ambitions to play at the highest level.

So are junior goalkeeping gloves on the list of essentials? The answer would seem to be no.

Rachel said: "There will be no pressure to follow in dad's footsteps at all."

The couple met two-and-half years ago at a nightclub in Windsor while Rhys was a promising young goalkeeper with Chelsea.

They are now happily settled in north Swindon.

He said: "We've just moved into our house so it's certainly been a busy time what with the baby and everything."

The couple are now thinking of ways to try and hurry junior along.

Rhys said: "Rachel has got some raspberry leaf lea which is supposed to help but I thought about just putting on the video of our FA Cup defeat at Wycombe last week."

Jon Ritson