I couldn’t believe the news about Axel. It seemed like a sick joke

GREGOR TOWNSEND was out with his family when social media started buzzing with the tragic news that Munster head coach Anthony Foley had died. He thought it was some kind of sick joke.

‘It took a while before it slowly dawned on me that what I was seeing on Twitter was tragically true,’ said Townsend yesterday as he spoke at length for the first time since Foley’s passing last weekend.

‘The details started to appear on Twitter on my phone and I thought someone had hacked an account as it seemed like a sick joke to me. I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense.

‘Here was a guy at just 42 who was young, the life and soul of a party, always upbeat and chatty who I had known for a long time, who was now dead.

‘This just wasn’t right. It was so wrong.

‘Maybe you don’t appreciate people’s lives until they’ve gone, but what he did for Munster to help them become one of the best teams in Europe and to be able to have a huge stadium is his professional legacy.

‘The biggest shock would be felt by his family and the Munster rugby community, as well as the people of Munster and Ireland. He was one of the most important figures in Irish rugby over the last couple of decades.

‘His death also affected the whole sporting world. You could see that from all the tributes that came in for him from all over the globe.

‘He was a great guy and his tragic death is a reminder to us all that we should appreciate what we’ve got and live our lives to the fullest.’

A statement was released by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) yesterday which confirmed

His legacy is that he made Munster a top European team

Munster’s Champions Cup clash against Townsend’s Glasgow side would go ahead as planned at 1pm on Saturday — the day after Foley’s funeral mass.

The two coaches knew each other well, their paths crossing on numerous occasions since that first meeting at schoolboy level and then on every rung up the age group ladder.

It took them to the pinnacle of the sport, where they locked horns on the international stage, before hanging up their boots to once again go head-to-head as coaches.

‘What makes Anthony’s death more shocking is knowing he was about the same age as me,’ said Townsend. ‘It is tragic he has passed so young.

‘I have great memories of Axel as we got on really well as players and especially as coaches. Through the years, we have had wins and defeats to deal with and we’ve had to go through similar experiences with injuries when we were playing.

‘It is such a loss for our game, a huge loss for Munster rugby, so our thoughts go with them and Anthony’s family. Munster were probably the team that shaped the Champions Cup for what it is today.

‘Winning away from home, winning in France, getting to finals, winning big games in those finals and having a huge travelling support.

‘In that period, I was fortunate. I was playing for Castres and I think we played Munster five times over two seasons and Anthony was always a key player for them.

‘We played against each other a number of times. I think we played each other in the schoolboy teams a long time ago, the Munster games, and then Ireland against Scotland.

‘He was aggressive and intelligent. A really good modern No8 with a great ball-carrying side to his game.

‘This is a game where we can remember what Anthony did and help create at Munster. He was one of the key players that got them that success and he was also a very good coach.

‘He was really good at sharing things with me when we were coaching and would mention players he liked and things like that.

‘I always looked forward to catching up with him at various events and I was looking forward to this week and meeting up with him after our game on Saturday.’

That has now changed dramatically. Townsend admitted he has no idea how his players, or even he himself, will react to events in what will be an emotionally charged European Champions Cup clash at Thomond Park.

‘We fly across to Ireland on the Thursday evening and I believe the funeral is private in a small village on the Friday and there will be a big demand from people who want to attend that from his family and friends,’ said the Warriors head coach.

‘On the day of the game, there will be poignancy and there will be a lot of noise and a real feeling of togetherness inside Thomond Park. You’ll see lots of red jerseys in the crowd and you’ll see the Munster team come together.

‘We will respect Axel’s memory, whether it be with a minute’s silence or minute’s applause, whatever they decide to do.

‘How our team and everybody involved on our side react to things is difficult to know as this is a special occasion in memory of Axel. It is a situation that very few players or coaches will ever have dealt with in the past.

‘We have to make sure that once the whistle goes, we concentrate only on the game. I know that will be hard but that is exactly what we have to do.

‘We have an opportunity to qualify this year out of our European group and we can’t forget that. We’ve played one game of the six, with the best possible outcome with a bonus-point victory over Leicester Tigers.

‘Of course, Saturday will be an emotional occasion for everybody, but we have to keep our focus through it all for the 80 minutes.

‘Our players appreciate the enormity of what has happened and being involved in the game will hopefully bring out the best in both teams.’