FOLEY’S LEGACY LIVES ON
Emotional night ahead at Thomond Park as rejuvenated Munster pay tribute to legend
OCTOBER 16, 2016 is a date that will never be forgotten in Munster. The day had begun brightly. Munster were in Paris for a European Cup pool clash with Racing 92. The province had endured a few dark years but the arrival of Rassie Erasmus had rejuvenated the whole operation. The South African had forged a close bond with head coach Anthony Foley and the visitors arrived in the French capital in confident mood.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, a quartet of the Munster backroom team decided to embark on a jog through the quiet streets of Paris. It was still dark when Jerry Flannery, Felix Jones, Jacques Nienaber and George Murray set out from the Novotel hotel, located in the suburb of Suresnes, west of Paris. The Eiffel Tower was their destination.
Erasmus had elected not to join them. ‘Axel didn’t run,’ Flannery later revealed. As the sun began to rise across the city, the group arrived at the iconic landmark on Champe de Mars.
Sweaty, but happy, there was a buzz around the group of morning runners. Kick-off was fast approaching that afternoon and there was an excitement among the whole group. A new dawn and a new hope for Munster.
The mood changed when they arrived back at their hotel. Concern became worry when Foley failed to appear for the squad’s pre-match run-through at their team base. ‘I hope he’s not kidnapped,’ Erasmus joked to his staff, but it became clear that something was not right.
Calls to Foley’s mobile phone and room phone went unanswered. Eventually, team manager Niall O’Donovan and Murray, the head video analyst, gained access to Foley’s room thanks to the hotel porter. Team doctor Tadhg O’Sullivan was soon called on the scene and the worst fears were realised. Anthony Foley, legend of Munster rugby, had passed away at the age of 42.
For Foley’s family, friends, colleagues and former team-mates, the following week was a blur. There followed the emotional scenes in Paris, the outpouring of grief across the rugby community and the sight of 20,000 people descending on his hometown of Killaloe for the funeral.
Peter O’Mahony helped carry Foley’s coffin on the Friday afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, the Corkman was leading out a Munster squad at Thomond Park for a European Cup game against Glasgow Warriors.
Many wondered how a group still grieving for their head coach would react. The venue was heaving. Every time the TV cameras panned to a section of the crowd, there in attendance was a legend of the province: Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell, Mick Galway, Donncha O’Callaghan, David Wallace, Alan Quinlan… the list went on.
The hosts blew Glasgow off the field. Final score: 38-17. The fact
“Anniversary
arrives at a time of fresh hope”
they did so with 14 men for the best part of an hour following an early red card for Keith Earls told its own story. There was no way Munster were losing.
Tonight, Munster will mark the fifth anniversary of Foley’s passing. Fittingly, the province are at home against Irish opposition, with a big crowd due to arrive through the turnstiles. Foley’s wife Olive and his two teenage sons, Tony and Dan, and the rest of the family will all be in attendance.
Much has changed since that emotionally-charged occasion in Limerick five years ago. Erasmus, Nienaber and Jones would leave to lead the Springboks to World Cup glory. The trio would be captured on video singing ‘Stand up and Fight’ on the South African team bus after their triumph in Tokyo. Tyler Blyendaal, Donnacha Ryan, Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell, CJ Stander, Duncan Casey, Brian Scott, Duncan Williams and Ronan O’Mahony have all retired. The likes of Darren Sweetnam, Jaco Taute, Robin Copeland and Ian Keatley have all moved on. But the core of Munster remains. Simon Zebo, Conor Murray and O’Mahony were all in the Millennium Stadium when Foley lifted the Heineken Cup on that fateful day in 2006. All three were on teenagers dreaming of becoming professionals that afternoon in Cardiff.
All three were on duty against Glasgow in 2016. Likewise, Keith Earls, Dave Kilcoyne, John Ryan and the Scannell brothers.
Fittingly, Foley’s anniversary arrives at a time of fresh hope across the province. Last weekend, a young group made a huge step forward in their development when they inflicted a 43-point hammering on a fully-loaded Scarlets side on their home turf in Llanelli.
Foley defined an era when Munster were kingpins in Europe. Two Heineken Cups were captured during his time but the province were never far away in other years. Foley played in two finals (losing to Northampton and Leicester Tigers) before the breakthrough in 06. Reaching a semi-final was the base requirement back then.
Foley’s legacy continues to live on. One of the Shannon stalwarts who ignited the European adventure in 2000, this quick-thinking, hard-nosed No8 became an integral cog in a Munster machine that defined the Heineken Cup for the best part of a decade. Sky Sports, who ruled the broadcasting roost back then, loved Munster’s story and it was no accident that the
“It felt like the
beginning of a new chapter”
Reds were continually given the primetime slot on Saturday evenings at Thomond Park.
Munster had a clear identity back then. The majority of the squad were homegrown players. Born and bred in the province. Reared in the All-Ireland League with the