Rassie Erasmus: Players now want to win for Anthony Foley

There will never be a good time to honour their fallen friend on a rugby field but Munster boss Rassie Erasmus said no player wanted to sit out this Saturday’s European clash with Glasgow and miss the opportunity to win a game for Anthony Foley.

Munster will face a red-hot Warriors side in the Champions Cup at Thomond Park this weekend, 24 hours after attending Foley’s funeral in his home village of Killaloe, Co. Clare. It is sure to make for an extremely emotional return to action, six days after Foley died suddenly at their Parisian hotel.

It would be understandable if players felt unable to find the energy to take to the field after such an emotionally draining week but with competition organisers EPCR yesterday confirming the game was going ahead, director of rugby Erasmus yesterday read a pre-prepared statement, printed in full on this page, that acknowledged playing the next game would be difficult but was “hugely important to all of us and cannot be easily dismissed”.