Axel extends Brendan’s voyage

MANY fathers and sons will travel to Cardiff this weekend hoping for memories to last a lifetime.

But when your offspring is captain of Munster, and the most capped player in Heineken Cup history, the emotions and expectations will be all the more intense.

Before Anthony found his way into the limelight, Brendan was the headline-maker in the Foley household. Honesty was often the keyword when Foley’s pedigree was being discussed. He was a hard-working, rugged second row who never gave anything less than 100%. He carved out an impressive career, winning 11 international caps from 1976-1981, close to 40 caps for Munster, and he also won a host of Munster Senior League and cup medals for Shannon.

And of course, there was the never-to-be-forgotten victory over the 1978 All Blacks, a memory Foley still treasures.

“It was one of those days in Irish sport that has become part of folklore; it’s something to treasure, ” says Brendan.

But he hasn’t been blinded by the past, noting what Munster have achieved in the last seven years.

“I think it has been fabulous to see Munster adapt to new conditions, to go forward and learn to compete with top teams from Britain and France, and even learn to beat them, not once in a while, but regularly,” he said.

Is there a tinge of jealousy at having played a generation earlier?

“No, I wouldn’t say that. We played in different times and we played the best we could. It’s a professional game now, the stakes are higher and the pressures, mentally and physically, are more intense.

“There are more games, more demands and I think Munster have done brilliantly to become such a consistently good side. They have been written off time and again, but they’ve proved themselves over and over.

“That’s the sign of a very good side.”

To say Brendan is proud of Anthony is an understatement, as he recalled his son’s introduction to rugby. “In one sense, his love of the game might have been accidental, because he was sent out along with me when I was playing games at the weekend. I suspect Sheelagh (his wife) insisted on that to ensure I got home early after the game!”

A father’s influence extended beyond trying to impart basic skills. “I used to tog out in the same corner of the Shannon dressing room at Thomond Park, and Anthony used to guard it for me when the lads would try to pinch my place. Today, Anthony likes to dress in the same part of the dressing room.

“But he actually started out in sport with the sliotar, and graduated, I think accidentally, to becoming serious about his rugby in St. Munchin’s. Once he got the bug, there was no looking back,” he said.

Support for Anthony has always come from within the family, but other siblings, Rosie and Orla (a physiotherapist), are never out of the loop.

Indeed Foley senior has missed only one Heineken Cup game in recent years — the Harlequins game which was played on the same day Rosie lined out for Munster against Ulster.

“I think this squad, successive squads in fact, is fantastic. No matter what the reputation of the players, there are no prima donnas. They’re just a fantastic group of people, dedicated to wanting Munster to be the best. That attitude goes right through from the players to the management and back room staff.”

But does dedication guarantee success?

“There are no guarantees,” said Foley, “no more than anyone else, Munster have not got the right to win. But they are good enough. They will have to play with the same single-minded attitude and levels of skill they produced in the win over Leinster.

“If they do that, I would be confident.”