AS I begin to type this week’s column, I have no idea what I am meant to say. Like all others, last Sunday morning’s news was a dagger to the heart. An unbelievable shock. There, but for the grace of God go we.
With every passing conversation about the great Anthony Foley, the legend of the man grows. There were no others like him.
Five All Ireland League titles with Shannon, captain of Munster’s 2006 Heineken Cup winning side, Irish international, but most importantly, a son, a father, a brother, a husband, a Dad.
That’s the thing for me this week. Axel Foley, the rugby player, the coach, the legend, belongs to Munster fans, rugby fans, indeed sports fans, the World over. Sadly, with time, the rugby world will move on. There will be more captains, players, coaches for fans to watch, to follow and to adore.
The tragedy of this week is that there will never be another Anthony Foley, the Dad, the husband, the son, the brother. The thought of that harsh reality is where the heartbreak lies. Anthony’s family has been dealt the cruelest of blows, as the Foley family statement read,
“Our anguish at the sudden loss of Anthony is bottomless. We have been plunged deep into an incomprehensible darkness and sense of loss that we must work our way through over the coming days, weeks, months and years.”
For this column, I felt I needed to articulate the point that Anthony’s loss is something that Munster Rugby, his work family, will never truly recover from either.
As the current Munster players went back to work this week, they had to pass the empty office of their great friend and leader. The soul of the province.
Foley, almost uniquely, had traversed the move from amateur club rugby to the professional game effortlessly. As Foley grew, Munster grew. They were intertwined.
It is said that “if you find something you truly love, you will never work a day in your life”. How lucky Anthony was to have that luxury.
The man who embodied the ‘up and at them’ attitude of the small province in the south west of Ireland dedicated his professional life to one team, one organisation.
It was Foley himself who said, “A warrior is brought off the field on his shield”. How sadly apt that has become. Foley, ever the warrior, passed away while in camp, as a general to the new breed of soldiers who wore the famous crest he helped to create.
To finish, Anthony’s own words.
“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,”
Rest well, Anthony. There is no longer something to chase.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
