Anthony Foley ‘kind of epitomised what Munster rugby was all about’

Internecine, interprovincial rivalries are at the very core of Irish rugby and no duels underpinned the rejuvenation of the noughties more than those between Leinster and Munster. Yet the provinces are also a very homogenous, close-knit quartet and perhaps nowhere will Anthony Foley's passing have shocked Munster's rivals quite like those in Leinster.

Virtually the entire Leinster coaching staff has spent much of the last two days reflecting on the man they all trained with and against, played with and against, and coached against. Head coach Leo Cullen, assistant Girvan Dempsey and manager Guy Easterby were all Irish teammates of Foley's, as was scrum coach John Fogarty in his initial playing days with Munster. They all played against him at provincial level.

Four years younger, Cullen’s career has effectively mirrored that of Foley’s. They all agreed they loved playing with him, hated playing against him, and all respected him as an equally gracious and sporting opponent in victory or defeat. All had been struck by how less pressurised and more relaxed Foley had seemed this season, as Fogarty yesterday recalled Foley chatting with some of them over dinner following the Leinster-Munster game at the Aviva 10 days previously to discuss their respective European Champions Cup games.

Stunned

“Like everyone, we were stunned, probably been in shock ever since,” said the Cork-born and reared Fogarty, after the Leinster squad reassembled yesterday for the first time since the tragic events of the weekend in readiness for their second game, away to Montpellier on Sunday. “It is difficult to understand such a huge loss. Watching the tributes, you watch them with great pride. So many of us in here would have played with and against Anthony; Guy, Leo, myself, Girvan and a few of the lads playing still. We’ve been looking on with a lot of pride.

“He’s remembered as an incredibly smart player, very determined to win. Off the field, he was a good team man and a good guy to have in a changing room. It’s very sad, incredibly sad. It is hard to comprehend.

"He and Munster on their route to winning a Heineken Cup, they seemed to evolve all along the way. People talk about Anthony being very clever. He seemed to adapt from game to game from season to season to learn how to win. When he lifted the trophy, he had evolved in that team and that team had become him. He's such a huge part of what Munster are and why they won that competition back in 2006. His family and Munster rugby should be very proud because I know we are up here."

Cullen had been telling Fogarty of the time he was at a Blackrock Under-20s game against Shannon years ago in Naas and Foley, then a full international, was in attendance behind the posts. “He didn’t need to be there,” said Fogarty, who added another more personal example. “My dad died in 2007 and Anthony showed up that night to support myself and Denis and our family. That’s when it becomes hard to deal with because you know the type of person he was, how good a club man, how good a team man he was as well as how influential he was in Shannon, Munster and Irish rugby.

Great sadness

“It is with great sadness we watch this and our thoughts are with all our friends in Munster rugby and particularly with Olive and the Foley family. I genuinely hope they find some sort of strength from the outpouring of love and affection that everyone has for Anthony.”

Like many in the Leinster squad, another Cork-born son of Munster, Mike Ross, had come across Foley in his stints as the Irish forwards coach in the Six Nations and summer tour of 2013, and like many, first learned of Foley's passing when his image flashed up on Sky Sports during their coverage of the Bordeaux/Begles v Ulster match.

Describing it as “a terrible shock”, Ross added: “I would have experienced Axel in a coaching capacity and in a playing capacity when he was with Munster, and he was a hard-nosed, tough leader of men but an amazing brain. And beyond the whole rugby thing, it’s the human element too. He’s got a wife, Olive, and two young boys and I can’t even think of what they’re going through right now. It kind of puts things in perspective a bit, doesn’t it?”

“At such a young age, 42, it’s nothing really is it? It’s not too far from me. I really feel bad for his family especially. I’ve got a young lad myself and it must be especially hard for them. If you had Axel for a dad you’d worship the ground he walked on, and to realise that you’re not going to see him again must be absolutely heartbreaking.

“He kind of epitomised what Munster rugby was all about really,” added Ross. “If you had to take a player and say ‘that’s Munster rugby’ you’d point to him. He was never the biggest or the strongest guy, but he was always one of the cleverest.”