2011 big interview with Anthony Foley: ‘My influences are Shannon, Munster and Ireland’

Between leading Munster to a first European Cup a decade ago and assuming the head coach’s role with the province six years later, Anthony Foley was responsible for guiding Munster’s next generation as ‘A’ team head coach. In this 2011 interview, reproduced in full, he distils his ethos into one succinct sentence: ‘My influences are Shannon, Munster and Ireland.’

IT was supposed to be all over after Toulon. A season, an era. When, for the first time in 13 years, the cavalry in red didn’t ride in to save their own day, it triggered a wave of unflattering post-mortems as forceful as all the gushing eulogies. Munster hadn’t planned for tomorrow, which was why they now had none after Toulon.

Even now, that theory causes the pit of Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley’s stomach to stir. Last Saturday night, he greatly enjoyed his pint in the Clarion Hotel but as dramatic and as sweet as the securing of those bragging rights was, he was painfully aware how fleeting they were, too.