MICHELLE HARRIES is one of the Newport Gwent Dragons' biggest fans. So it was fitting that she unwittingly became a bit of an icon when she visited Ireland for the Leinster v Dragons match last Friday.

TV cameras picked out Michelle, 33, of the Gaer, from the thousands of fans at Landsdowne Road, Dublin, and a freelance photographer snapped an image of her despair when fans realised their dream of a Celtic League win had slipped away.

The photograph was sent to a number of newspapers in Ireland - and the Argus, where we featured it on our front page on Saturday.

Michelle is, in fact, an Argus employee working in the commercial services department at our Cardiff Road headquarters.

The uncanny coincidence was pointed out when Ms Harries friends spotted her and told her.

She said: "I had loads of text messages from my friends telling me to buy the Argus and I told them they don't sell the Argus in Dublin!"

Hundreds of Dragons' fans flocked to Lansdowne Road to watch the Dragons face Leinster and lose 56-39 where the now-famous shot of Michelle was shown in the papers in Ireland and on TV.

She said: "We met a group of people from Merthyr who were on the same flight as us and they said they were at a bar watching the match and they saw me and my friends on the TV all the time - they asked for my autograph.

"The camera kept on us and when the credits rolled at the end apparently they showed a shot of me crying my eyes out!

"I was mortified and dreading going to work because of all the remarks from my workmates."

Michelle discovered that she had made the Irish press when she sat at breakfast in her hotel the next day.

She said: "We were having breakfast and someone showed me a paper with my picture - I have enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame but never again!"