“If I’m going to be remembered I’d like to be seen as a stubborn player, somebody who wouldn’t give in. There were times during my career when I could have called it quits and gone off and done other things, but there was always a goal there, always something to achieve. Once there’s something to chase, I’ll chase it.” – Anthony Foley
THE PEOPLE of Munster are this week coming to terms with the untimely loss of one its favourite sons.
Sunday October 16, 2016 will long be remembered as the day that Anthony Foley passed away. At 42 years of age, the rugby community will mourn the loss of a legend who was taken too soon, but will also find solace through the remarkable achievements of the man affectionately known as ‘Axel’.
A teak tough rugby player, he was also a husband, son, father and brother who was as loving and supportive off the pitch as he was brave and uncompromising on it.
You simply cannot imagine Munster without Anthony Foley.
Munster Rugby was the common ground that brought people from all walks of life together and Anthony Foley was the man leading from the front with inspiration and intelligence.
A career that started in St Munchin’s College with a Munster Schools Junior Cup win in 1989. This would lay the foundations of what was to come.
Labeled as ‘the best schools player to ever play the game’, Foley would arrive at the gates of Coonagh and become a pillar of the best All Ireland League team to ever grace the turf.
Four successive All Ireland League titles and a whole host of other silverware led Munster and Ireland to come calling.
While his Irish career was initially stop-start in nature, he nevertheless amassed 62 caps for his country.
Above all else he was an integral part of the Munster Rugby journey that brought its supporters through every emotion possible.
On a Wednesday afternoon in November 1995, Axel debuted for Munster against Swansea in the first ever Heineken Cup game.
Part of the epic highs and devastating lows, he would twice be a central player in teams that were deprived of the biggest reward on the biggest stage in 2000 and 2002.
After earning his stripes in the Munster jersey, he would go on to captain the 2006 Heineken Cup team that would finally grasp European Rugby’s Holy Grail.
On this day of days, Foley wasn’t just lifting the trophy aloft in Cardiff; he was lifting the people of Munster to heights they hadn’t been to before.
Calling time on his stellar career after Munster’s second Heineken Cup in 2008, Foley continued to give his all to Munster and went straight into coaching with the province.
Starting from scratch, he took on coaching duties with Munster’s under 20 side, quickly learning his trade outside the lines. Graduating through the ‘A’ squad and assistant roles to become Munster’s head coach, Anthony Foley could have felt confident in the knowledge that he owed the game nothing.
But that wasn’t his way and even when his coaching career hit stormy waters, he parked his personal ambitions and put the interests of his beloved Munster to the forefront.
His death last weekend deprived Irish rugby of what might have been. But his legacy will live on whenever the red flag is raised.
Keeping it Simple
AS a schoolboy growing up in the late nineties through the early 2000’s, if you were playing sport, it was all about Munster.
You followed them everywhere you could, be it sneaking into the bowl at UL to see them training, or jumping the wall in the old Thomond Park, you wouldn’t think twice if given the opportunity.
During a Heineken Cup game around 2003, I remember RTE commentator Tom McGurk saying “Axel Foley doing what he does best for Munster”.
While he did nothing spectacular at that particular moment, it sums up the player he was. Not interested in the glamour plays, apart from the occasional chip’ n chase over the top which we can forgive him for, Axel played with pride, passion and, above all else, a distinct lack of showmanship.
I had the privilege of working with him for a couple of seasons after he finished his playing career and have nothing but the utmost respect for the man. His messages before games were clear and concise.
Before an under 20 interpro at the opening of the new Thomond Park Stadium in 2008 he said to the group, “Play for your family, and play for the man next to you”.
In typical Foley style, we won the game 3-0.
In his first season as Head Coach with Munster Rugby, the province got to the Pro12 final against Glasgow in Belfast. It was Paul O’Connell’s last game for Munster and the team were well beaten after a disappointing display.
The following day, by chance, I bumped into Axel and a few of the lads in the Curragower bar in Limerick.
I commiserated with him on the disappointment of losing out in another final, to which he replied, “We’ll come back stronger” and offered to buy a pint.
He had an honesty and selflessness about him that shone through both on and off the pitch, and will forever be remembered as one of the greats the game.
And that’s more than most men can hope for.
Farewell Axel
PASSION, leadership, commitment, integrity.
Those are just some of the words used to describe Anthony Foley whose untimely death in Paris last Sunday shocked the nation.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be incredibly difficult to comprehend and the emotion shown across the province of Munster and further afield this week has been palpable.
Loved and respected by the masses, the reaction to such a monumental loss in such tragic circumstances has been nothing short of incredible.
From the Red Army’s heartfelt rendition of the Fields of Athenry outside the Stade Yves du Manoir in Paris last Sunday, to the shrine in his honour at the gates of Thomond Park gives a broad indication of how much the ordinary people of Munster admired the man they knew as Axel.
He was handed nothing and was self-made man.
Totally honest both on and off the field, he was intrinsic in establishing the standards that brought Munster to the top table of the European game.
And that did not happen overnight. It took eleven years of blood, sweat and tears from Foley and his band of brothers and it was fitting that he was the man to finally lift the European Cup in 2006.
Hanging up his boots in 2008 after putting his heart and soul into the province, he could have walked away to an easier life. He didn’t.
He stayed loyal to the cause and continued to give his all.
In a time of transition when the demands of his role as head coach with Munster Rugby were particularly onerous, he didn’t waver.
Aside from his sporting prowess, Axel was a loving father, husband, son and brother. A kind, shy, witty gentleman who supported local and national causes and organisations, he truly was a giant amongst men.
Axel epitomised all that is good in sport and gave each and every one of us some magnificent memories.
He will be greatly missed.
For more see this week’s print edition of the Limerick Post.
by Daragh Frawley / [email protected]
