Anthony Foley: Keep it simple, stupid: The best of coaching tips from Axel

“Tell them nothing” – the shout from Anthony Foley at the weekly Munster press conference whenever he passed by a player being interviewed. The ‘jibe’ was always always followed by childish chuckle and the squinting of his devilment-filled eyes.

That was the ironic thing with Anthony Foley. He loved chatting about rugby. But when the microphones went on, he morphed into what many people might have seen on TV, or heard in interviews. He became the coach who didn’t like to give a quote or any opposition ammunition for the sake of it.

Foley often wondered why someone would use 100 words, when they could just use 10. His honesty in the appraisal of Munster or the opposition team for that matter, was not filled with cliches or stereotypical soundbites. It was always, refreshingly, the answer to the question asked. Honesty. For me, the word I kept thinking about this week was legacy.