BRENDAN Foley has been named as the the incoming President of Munster Rugby.
Following-on from two decades in more recent times with Ballina-Killaloe, he was taken aback to be nominated for the role by his old club Shannon, with whom he enjoyed an illustrious 14-year playing career. He also coached at Shannon.
“It was a surprise to put it lightly. I had made up my mind a few months previous that I would finish up my roles in rugby and just be a supporter. But nonetheless I am honoured that Shannon would consider me for the nomination,” he stated.
Foley, who started his career with St Mary’s CBS, was a feature for Munster during the 1970s and 80s, appearing in a number of famous fixtures.
An outstanding performance in a narrow defeat against a touring Australia in 1976 earned him his first of many International caps. He also enjoyed a number of Tours with Ireland.
Famously, Foley was a member of the Munster XV that overcame the mighty All Blacks at Thomond Park in 1978.
On his new role, he said: “I’m hoping we’ll have a good season for the Munster senior team and for our clubs in the AIL to go very well. We’d like to have a few more up in Division 1A and teams moving up rather than dropping down. I’d hate to think of losing another senior club so I’d like to see teams progressing in the competition.”
“Then I’d hope to see the domestic junior league flourish and see a couple more clubs field 20s teams, as it seems to be a problem of we have a lot of U18 teams but they don’t follow through to 20s so it would be nice to have a few more teams to bridge that gap.”
