Rugby player’s mum wins competition to see her son’s crunch World Cup game

Ireland rugby captain Paul O'Connell won't have to forage a ticket for his mum ahead of the France game - she's sorted it herself.

Shelagh O'Connell entered a competition for Ireland v France tickets in the Irish Examiner, and when the winner was chosen at random she hit the jackpot. "Match tickets are not the problem. It’s the flights and actually getting there," she told the publication. For the last game, when Ireland played Canada in Cardiff, we had to fly into London, followed by a four-hour drive to Cardiff. I wasn’t the best after sitting in the car for four hours. "And I’m really looking forward to flying straight to Cardiff and having somewhere to stay, which in Cardiff is a huge problem." With one less worry, Ireland fans will hope O'Connell can focus on doing a number on France and sorting his mum out with quarter final tickets.