'Charity close to my heart' - Andrew Porter on cancer fight

Ireland forward Andrew Porter has paid tribute to volunteers working in the Irish Cancer Society.

Porter lost his mother, Wendy, to cancer when he was 12 years old.

Now 27, the Leinster prop is a regular starter with Ireland and expected to win his 56th cap when the team face Tonga in a World Cup Pool B tie on Saturday.

He was among the Ireland players who on Monday visited Clocheville Children's Hospital in Tours, the town south west of Paris in which the squad are based for the tournament.

"It’s obviously something that I dealt with a lot when I was younger and obviously didn’t have a lot of knowledge about it at the time," said Porter.

"But I think, given my status, it’s incredibly important to use that status to benefit others and I think that’s what I’m going to try and do.

"As my role as an ambassador for the Cancer Society, I’m going to use it as best I can to help and try to make other people’s lives a bit better – people who are affected by it.

"I am involved with a lot of fundraisers, very small-scale stuff.

"What I do, compared to what people who do incredible work do, the volunteers and everyone there, I’m just there to basically raise awareness and help with initiatives to boost their campaigns and everything.

"What I do is nothing compared to what the actual volunteers and the people who work there in the Irish Cancer Society do in their day-to-day work. It’s nothing compared to what I do."

As the squad enjoyed a rest day following the victory over Romania, a game played in 35 degrees heat, Porter, Mack Hansen, Joe McCarthy and Bundee Aki visited a local hospital

"It was amazing seeing the incredible work the doctors are doing in the children’s hospital," he said.

"It’s a charity that’s close to my heart.

"Obviously,