Anthony Foley: He greeted adversity and acclaim equally

Adversity and Munster Rugby go hand in hand, but men like Anthony Foley always met it head on with their own force of character.

Last May a disappointing season for the province required one final push to avoid missing out on Champions Cup qualification. Failing to keep their place among the European elite would have been seen as a disaster at the time, how hollow and fickle that thought seems right now.

Ahead of Munster’s final game of the season, at home to Scarlets, a reporter asked Foley if he would be pleased to see the back of a very trying campaign. The response was determined and robust, much like the man himself.

“I’m never glad, never glad, I want to fight to the end. I want to be in every competition and try and win as many trophies as possible. That’s the way I’ve been reared,” Foley answered.

Some people will tell you that a person can care too much for a cause but that was not a theory that Anthony Foley subscribed to, and his devotion to Shannon, Munster and Ireland was there for all to see.

There are also many out there who will hold memories and tales more intimate then anything you will read here.

The tributes that have flowed from Killaloe to Auckland and all places in between have carried a weight of resonance that can only be matched by the powerful feeling of loss that Foley’s sudden passing has brought.

Friends, foes and fans are united by grief and have been harmonious when describing a man whose tremendous character will leave a timeless legacy.

Some of us who came across him regularly did so in an atmosphere that was more in keeping with an arranged marriage. Dictaphones are not the most conducive tool when it comes to building relationships but across a 10-year career in journalism I found Foley was always courteous and honest to a fault.

As a novice reporter one weekly duty was to produce a weekly column on the All-Ireland League which could pluck neat yarns from clubs around the country. The job held the added bonus of getting to know players who had begun their coaching careers before hanging up their boots.

Foley had a tremendous influence at Shannon RFC as a player and he remained a selfless presence on the training pitch in Dooradoyle where he was coaching in the background at the time.

Young players (Donnacha Ryan’s name springs to mind) would have been grateful recipients of his expert knowledge on Tuesday and Thursday nights and when reports were requested to fill a spot on the club page Foley never said no.

Honesty was his trademark and one of our earliest discussions is burned into the memory.

An old editor had instructed me to get quotes from former Irish internationals to underscore the misery of our record against New Zealand. To pick through the bones of defeat to the All Blacks in November 2001 Foley was my first port of call and as I was bumbling and plámásing my way through the question, he cut me off: “What you mean is: why did we make a complete s**** of it?” That wry laugh of his followed and so did the quotes.

A more abrupt encounter came during Ireland’s backwater tour to USA and Canada in 2013. Foley was serving on Irish backroom team and duly lined up for the coaches versus media football match that is something of a tradition on those trips.

For a man of his size he had an immaculate touch and yet for some reason my colleagues decided my 5ft 6in frame was ideal for the man-marking assignment on Axel. I was blessed he went easy on me as I tried to harry and hustle him whenever he had possession and at one point my over-exuberance sent us both tumbling to the floor.

Immediately I sought to apologise in the vain hope that at least when the retribution came my way I’d see it coming, but all credit to Foley who took it easy on the hack turned hacker. The same cannot be said for the venom with which he scored the final goal of the game with a thunderbolt of a shot. The wonderful photographer Billy Stickland had put down the camera for a stint in between the posts and almost paid dearly for the experience! But Foley rarely missed an opportunity that came his way and the fondness in which he is held by the fourth estate rose again last season when Munster endured some wretched losses. As the man responsible for picking the team he never shirked his duties with the media and no matter how frustrating the situation Foley could be relied upon to produce a one-liner that would display his wit and good humour.

Still, at times you could see how the weight of it all was straining those powerful shoulders.

By the end of December, Connacht and Leicester had already doled out some painful defeats before Leinster came to Thomond Park for a game that would result in Munster’s fifth consecutive loss.

Afterwards Foley refused to hide from the truth. “It’s been a tough month, you don’t have to have days or weeks about it, it’s been horrendous and we can’t hide away from the fact that we need to get a win so that’s another tough week,” he said.

Nobody could have imagined how tough this week would be for his family, friends, colleagues and supporters, but at least through his celebrated life he has shown them how to tackle adversity.