Former Ireland and Munster captain Paul O’Connell is the star of a new advertisement from Aldi broadcast last night for the first time and marking the launch of its ‘back to school’ campaign.

The advertisement sees O’Connell visit Ardeevin National School in Williamstown, Co. Galway for the day as part of the Aldi Play Rugby initiative.

The advertisement was filmed at Ardeevin National School, Co Galway during May. The school, which accommodates just 34 pupils and two full-time teachers, was the winning school out of 1,115 national primary school entries to Aldi’s #AldiPlayRugby competition to win an exclusive training session with Paul.

Join us at Croke Park on Thursday, September 21st for ‘Sport for Social Good’ Highlighting the work that brands and sporting organisations are doing to benefit communities.

The prize also involved a lesson on healthy eating habits delivered by IRFU Nutritionist Marcus Shortall.

“Filming the advertisement with the children was great fun and I firmly believe in the healthy eating message it is highlighting,” said O’Connell.

“Encouraging children to have good eating habits and to exercise from a young age is hugely important for setting the foundations for later life.”

“In my role as an ambassador for Aldi Play Rugby – the IRFU programme that enables children to get involved in rugby in a safe and fun manner – I have been able to support this message.”

“1,115 schools registered for Aldi Play Rugby this year, exceeding our stated participation target by almost 40%.”

“We are thrilled to have Paul work with us in promoting our back to school range, particularly given his involvement in the Aldi Play Rugby initiative,” said Finbar McCarthy, Aldi Ireland’s Group Buying Director.

“He is the perfect role model to encourage healthy eating and an active lifestyle amongst school children.”