Anthony Foley: Incredible leader lost to the cause

Ireland is famous for its traditions, particularly the overwhelming sense of connection and loyalty people still retain for their own community - be that a small village, a city, a county or even a province.

Never is this demonstrated more than on its sporting fields where local or provincial rivalries, rich in colour and pomp, dominate conversations for days on end until bragging rights are finally settled.

Much like everyone else of my age, I grew up playing most sports - endlessly reading about the many achievements of Ireland’s superstars, like Ronnie Delany and the great Christy Ring but nothing captivated my mind more than Munster’s historic victory over the All Black’s at Thomond Park in 1978.

It was a victory that no one could have foreseen but Munster’s performance that day spoke volumes about their players’ attitude and laid down a marker for future generations of Munster players that good leadership, preparation and determination can be a very formidable formula.

Brendan Foley was a member of that victorious team but even he must have spent the past couple of decades marveling at the achievements of his more illustrious late son Anthony, who throughout his career won 62 caps for Ireland and 202 caps for Munster, including two Heineken Cups - while also securing five AIL league titles with his beloved Shannon.

Players of Anthony Foley’s pedigree do not come around very often and while it is very easy to say that Declan Kidney had already assembled a very formidable squad at the turn of the Millennium, and again in 2005, it was telling that it was Anthony who Munster turned to for the captaincy and the responsibility for “delivering” a European title.

Anthony Foley never took any leadership courses prior to his ascendancy to the role of captain but he didn’t need to because the shy man from Killaloe, the man who never courted the limelight had long proven his pitch credentials to his harshest critics - his team mates, by leading from the front, most often making the all important difference when it mattered most.

As a Munster fan, it was impossible not to love him for the way he played. That sheer determination to win or his unflinching efforts on the pitch, which more often than not meant doing the simple things well while living on the edge, patiently waiting for that one carry or turnover in a pressure situation that could change a game.

But most of all we loved his total commitment to his team and to Munster’s cause.

While Anthony epitomised the attitude that no one player is greater than the team, no one can deny but that both he and all of the other superstars around him were aided in no small way by Munster’s shrewd and cunning rugby coach, Declan Kidney who nurtured the talent he had at his disposal – by building a coaching team around the characteristics of his players. It was he who was responsible for implementing the strong systems and support into Munster rugby – which in turn allowed his captain and team to build a winning culture and, of course, with it their own legacy.

To find a coach that can bring out that quality in people is no easy feat but in Anthony Foley, Kidney had the X factor – a captain who exemplified Munster’s ambition, a captain fuelled by an internal drive, passion and equal intellect - a teak tough player who led by example – a man who understood everything there was to know about pressure and momentum and most importantly playing “heads up” effective rugby, when it mattered most.

He may not have possessed the speed or the conditioning of other more high profile players. He may not have been as intimidating as say, Martin Johnson. Nor was he a big ego man but the weighted importance of his role, for key game plays within the team – the way he led by example with those safe hands to return kick-offs or his decision making ability from the base of the scrum, or his ability to apportion responsibility and especially the conviction his Munster team had in following his decisions tell us all we need to know about his authenticity - his real status within the team. He was a leader to the core.

He gave Munster players and fans cause to believe. He gave my own children heroes to respect and the heartbreaking comments from his teammates and fellow competitors right across the world to news of his death, says it all.

Munster has indeed lost an incredible man.