Sean O'Brien had an anxious night waiting on word from the Fighting Cocks

Sean O’Brien’s focus on Romania may just have wavered for an hour or so last night.

With Ireland’s World Cup clash against Romania fast approaching, family and friends of the Irish players will have been busy wishing the boys in green luck and lighting the odd candle ahead of their second test.

However, O’Brien would have been sending his own best wishes back across the channel to his local GAA team, the Fighting Cocks.

The Cocks men battled it out on Wednesday night with local rivals Ballon in a relegation play-off in which Sean’s brother Willie played full-back.

Had the Tullow Tank’s team lost, they would have plummeted to the Junior A division, a major step back from the senior grade where they plied their trade just two years ago.

However, the Cocks men won 2-14 to 0-10, to the delight of their supporters and club chairman Keith Bolger.

“It was a great win,” he said. “It was probably the best we’ve played all year. It all just came together for us.”

O’Brien, who togged out for the Cocks’ junior team two years ago, would have had one eye on the France v Romania game on Wednesday and one on his phone, waiting for the news.

“Yeah, a few of the lads like Niall Byrne and Willie were in touch with Sean during the week talking about the match,” said Bolger who also lined out. “I’m sure someone got in touch after the game to let him know the good news.”

O’Brien’s personal interest in the game would have been heightened by the fact that, as a young player for the Cocks, he scored a great individual goal against Ballon several years ago in the game that became known, in local legend, as “the time Sean beat Ballon.”

“He was probably delighted when he heard the news on Wednesday,” said Bolger.

After a nervous few hours for the Ireland flanker, now his attention turns to the slightly less nerve-wracking test of taking on Romania on Sunday. The Fighting Cocks wish him the best of luck.