Foley’s long and winding road
WE clambered onto the bus in twos and threes.
A motley crew, from across the province, heading over to Wales to represent Munster Schools against the might of Mid-Glamorgan.
The bus was full of familiar heads, guys you'd recognise from matches up through the various age groups, but there was one unfamiliar face, a big hefty lad down the back.
"Who's yer man?"
"That's Anthony Foley," said one of the Limerick lads.
"Jeez, he's very young."
"Only 15," came the reply, "but he's s**t-hot, he's Brendan's young fellah, they say he'll go all the way."
As you get older, a three-year age gap is nothing, but in school it is an eternity and having a 15-year-old on the Munster U18 schools squad was practically unheard of.
It was a tough trip for Foley, there were some notable characters on that bus, led by Bubbles Madigan and Mike O'Meara from Crescent, and Foley was the butt of their humour.
But we knew we had a serious talent in our midst and the prediction proved entirely correct. We all had our dreams but Foley was the one who went all the way.
"Bloody hell, that was a long time ago," says Foley when we meet up in the University of Limerick, "I was just a kid. I remember it though, the baby was the softest target."
It was 1989, and though he didn't get a game that weekend, a year hasn't gone by since that he hasn't pulled on a representative jersey.
Munster and Irish Schools, Ireland Under-21s and of course, a stalwart of Munster and Ireland senior teams for the last decade.
They adore him in Munster. Having a father on the team that beat the All Blacks helps, but Foley Junior's brand of forthright honesty has delighted knowledgeable fans in the rugby-mad province for many years and ensured that, when he eventually retires, his name will enter the red jersey hall of fame.
Retirement is a good way off yet, he has a contract until 2007 and though it seems he has been around forever, he is only 30 and at his peak as an international forward.
Foley grew up in Killaloe, County Clare, hurling country, and though he represented the county at underage level, it was always going to be rugby. His father's achievements with Munster and Ireland made sure of that.
On leaving St Munchins college in 1992, Foley joined his father's club Shannon, and was blooded immediately.
"I played my first game for Shannon the October after leaving school and it was some baptism. I came on for Paddy O'Grady against Young Munster in the All-Ireland league. That was the season Munsters went onto win the AIL and they had a hell of a hard team."
Shannon were about to hit a run of form that saw them romp to four successive AIL titles in the mid-1990s and Foley joined a bevy of his club-mates on the Munster side shortly afterwards.
"I got my first call-up for Munster in 1994, against the Scottish Districts. We won all the inter-provincial games that year which catapulted me into the Ireland team for the Five Nations in 1995."
It was the first game of the championship, against Will Carling's England at Lansdowne Road. Ireland were comfortably seen off 20 points to eight but Foley retains happy memories of the occasion.
"It was a great day for the family. I was very nervous beforehand but was lucky that I got into the game early. I got a good hit in on Tim Rodber from the kick-off and then traded a few blows with Dean Richards. I was up for it alright," he smiles.
"At the end of the game, I got over for a try so while the result was disappointing it was an excellent experience."
It was the era of heavy defeats and knee-jerk selections but, for the next couple of seasons, Foley was never far from the Irish back row, swapping places with Paddy Johns, Victor Costello and a young Eric Miller.
However, after coming on for Miller in a 46-6 defeat to England in 1997, he was banished to the international wilderness for three years, along with other notables such as Mick Galwey and Eddie Halvey. Brian Ashton had been brought in as coach and, with the AIL still clinging on as the showpiece for the game in Ireland, was quite scathing about the playing talent in this country. Players left for England in their droves but Foley decided to stay put.
"Brian Ashton obviously didn't see me as an international player," says Foley matter-of-factly.
"There was a perception then that if you weren't playing in England, you weren't playing at a high enough standard for international rugby. Gaillimh (Mick Galwey) was in the same boat, we stayed at home. Ashton didn't think we were up to it, although he obviously thought Dylan O'Grady and Dean Erskine were up to it," he adds with a wry smile, referring to two of Ashton's least successful experiments during his ill-fated reign.
Did he ever think about joining the exodus abroad?
"It crossed my mind. In 1998, I was pretty down and spoke to Sale, Harlequins and Coventry and there was an offer I was pretty close to accepting but I was convinced to stay at home, and the people who convinced me were proven correct."
During that difficult period, Munster proved a great consolation. Under Declan Kidney, the province had started to make some noise in Europe and, after Ireland's abysmal 1999 World Cup campaign, the international door was ajar once more.
Foley was recalled along with a host of his Munster team-mates for the 2000 championship and has been practically an ever-present in the Irish back-row since.
However well it has gone in recent times, last autumn's World Cup is not a happy memory for the Clare man. "It was very frustrating. I played one game, got injured and was struggling after that. Then I got dropped for the quarter-final against France (for Costello) which ranks as the most disappointing moment of my career.
"It's only every four years, you work so hard getting ready and then it all falls apart ... pretty hard to stomach."
Ireland were stuffed by France in Melbourne and Foley's summation of their World Cup performance is succinct and to the point. "We went over there ranked three in the world and came back ranked six. That says it all really."
MUNSTER once again proved a salve for international disappointment and a run of high intensity games in the Heineken Cup has seen Foley return to form and reclaim his place from Costello for tomorrow's clash with France. While acknowledging that the forthcomiong Six Nations is a big challenge, he is optimistic Ireland can regain some lost ground.
"With the two big games (France and England) away, it's going to be hard. But, if we get a result in France, we have Wales at home before taking on the world champions in Twickenham. If we lose to France it becomes more of a struggle."
While the focus is very much Six Nations for now, the resumption of Munster's quest to land the Heineken Cup in April is never far from the mind and Foley is delighted the province will finally have a home semi-final if they get that far.
"It's nice to know that there is a carrot for us if we beat Stade Francais in the quarter-final," he agrees. "It would be great for the fans because they have spent so much following us around Europe over the past four or five seasons.
"But it is dangerous to look that far ahead, when we get back from the Six Nations all we will be thinking of is beating Stade in Thomond Park."
One challenge after the next, such is the life of the rugby pro. It is the only professional life Foley has known, never having to endure the banality of a 9 to 5 desk existence.
"It's a great life, I wouldn't change it. Initially, in the first few years of professional rugby everything was geared around training, lifting weights and running the arse off you. You were knackered the whole time but now it's very player-friendly.
"You do have a limited social life but there are a lot of big games and you don't want to screw around with your livelihood.
"The biggest drawback with this job is the amount of time away from home. Hotels, hotels and more hotels, cabin fever can set in.
"You try and alleviate the boredom. PlayStation 2 is the best thing a rugby player can have. You can play games, watch DVDs or listen to CDs. I also got one of those I-Pod things which can store about 10,000 songs but I was reading the other day that the batteries are supposed to give up after about 18 months and there's me after spending e400 on the bloody thing."
Foley has a keen interest in other sports also with hurling his main love outside rugby. He firmly believes the GAA should open up Croke Park and the other stadiums but accepts that they cannot be bullied into doing so.
Steeped in Limerick rugby but growing up in Clare, who does he shout for when the Banner take on their neighbours?
"Ah, don't ask me that," he says frantically. "Well, I played underage with Clare so I'd know a few of their lads but I'd know the Limerick lads as well."
Come on Anthony, answer the question. "To be truthful, I'd like to see Clare winning... I'm going to get killed for this... but I do like when Clare win."
Finally, with all their injury problems, does he really think the Irish can pull off a surprise tomorrow?
"Well it starts off at 0-0," he laughs. "I've seen both sides of Paris. I've gone there when we've weathered the storm in the first 15 minutes and gone on and won the game. Then, two years ago, they got a couple of scores early and ran away with it.
"If you get through the early onslaught you have a great chance. It will be a test of our mental strength."
He has come a long way since he sat on the back of Munster Schools bus getting the piss pulled out of him.
A long and winding road but Anthony Foley has a fair bit of travel in him yet.
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