Foley to face Glasgow in final Munster home game

ANTHONY FOLEY makes his 201st competitive and final appearance for Munster on home soil in tomorrow’s Magners League clash against Glasgow, (Musgrave Park, 5pm).

Said coach Declan Kidney: “If I start using superlatives about Anthony, he’ll think I’m just making them up. He’s everything that Munster strive to be.

“There’s an honesty that goes right through the entire group but generally that stems from its leaders. Anthony has always been generous to the team. A lot of the work he does goes unnoticed, he was never a man for putting himself out front.

“We talked about it over in Llanelli last week. He wasn’t in the 22 and it was a weird feeling not to have him there.

“It was like going out on the pitch missing a part of your gear. He’s playing Saturday because we need him to play.

“He’s been like that from the start and that’s the way it’s going to finish.”

The intention is to pick the strongest possible side in the build-up to the Heineken Cup final against Toulouse two weeks later but Kidney admitted he still was unsure about the fitness of several of his players.

“We had a pretty tough session today and there were a few bruises,” related the newly-appointed Irish coach.

“All I know is that I’ll be ringing the physio later to find out who I can play on Saturday and then look ahead to the match two weeks later.

“That’s my focus for now. I can’t let anything deflect me from that.

“As for the tour in the summer to New Zealand and Australia, I’ll be trying to help Munster to succeed in the final because I think the players will be in a better state if they go off knowing they gave everything.

“There’s a lot of competition for places and that competition can be very helpful.

“They learn more from one another and it helps them to raise their standards and if they raise standards, who knows what it is possible.”

MUNSTER squad (v Glasgow): J. Hayes, M. Horan, F. Pucciariello, T. Buckley, J. Flannery, F. Sheahan, D. O’Callaghan, M. O’Driscoll, D. Ryan, P. O’Connell, A. Quinlan, D. Wallace, A. Foley, D. Leamy; P. Stringer, T. O’Leary, R. O’Gara, P. Warwick, D. Howlett, I. Dowling, A. Horgan, L. Mafi, T. Tipoki, K. Earls, D. Hurley, S. Payne.