LIMERICK IS FULL of sadness right now. It’s been a quiet place since last Sunday.
Around the University of Limerick, where Munster’s High Performance Centre is based, there was a hush yesterday – even with the thousands of students going about their lives on campus.
The press conference Rassie Erasmus and Peter O’Mahony somehow fronted up to was emotional and raw, as Munster confirmed that they will take on Glasgow on Saturday.
Over to Thomond Park and the shrine to Anthony Foley that continues to grow on the gates outside the Shannon RFC clubhouse. People flock here to place their mementos and share memories, and to sign the club’s book of condolences.
More tears were shed last night as the hearse carrying Foley’s remains stopped outside Thomond Park, with ‘There is an Isle’ echoing into the darkness in honour of the Munster and Ireland legend.
That Ryanair carried Foley’s body home on flight FR008, signifying his famous number eight jersey, was another classy touch in a week full of them. The jet travelled to France under the call-sign FR1973, Foley having been born in 1973.
Today, his remains will lie in repose at St. Flannan’s Church in Killaloe, with the funeral set for tomorrow afternoon.
Somehow, after all of that, Foley’s friends in Munster will have to gather themselves for a Champions Cup clash with Gregor Townsend’s Glasgow.
“We’ve been around each other, which I found has made it easier,” said Munster captain O’Mahony yesterday. “Being away from the squad, with the lads around here, that would make it harder. I think the more time we spend together the better.”
Erasmus stressed that the support from CEO Garrett Fitzgerald and the rest of the organisation has been immense, helping the squad through this most difficult of times.
The South African director of rugby hasn’t been in Ireland for long, but he looked utterly rocked yesterday alongside an understandably emotional O’Mahony. If it wasn’t for Foley, Erasmus might not have ended up in Munster.
“When I came for the interview, way before I had the job, I met him and those would be the kind of people, with that passion, that I wanted to be part of that, because I knew about Munster a long time before I met Anthony, apart from playing against him,” said Erasmus.
“And then when I sat down with him in the hotel and discussed it with him, I wanted to be here. That’s how welcome he made me feel.”
Everyone who knew the man has their own tale of that warm side of Foley.
“I couldn’t pick just one thing, and I couldn’t just pick the rugby side of stuff,” said O’Mahony of what he learned from Foley. “I learned life skills from him, family skills from him.
“Seeing him bringing Tony and Dan [his sons] around the dressing room after games, I used to say that I’d love to bring my kids around…”
Erasmus lamented the fact that Foley barely had time to get going as a coach, passing away at the age of 42, when many coaches truly hit their peak in their 50s.
The director of rugby says he was always struck by Foley’s knowledge of the game and ability to pick out seemingly obscure incidents without having video footage in front of him.
“He never missed anything,” said Erasmus. “You could name a player or a move and he would have seen it, thought about it and he could tell you the minute it happened in a game.”
O’Mahony said that rugby and this weekend’s fixture do seem “pretty trivial” for the players at this moment, but there will be a sheer determination to honour Foley at Thomond Park on Saturday, with a 1pm kick-off.
Munster trained on Tuesday and again yesterday in UL, but they will not be on the pitch again before the weekend.
“I think the main thing is that we’re there for Olive and the kids and that’s been our focus outside of being in the four walls [of the training centre],” said O’Mahony.
Obviously, that’s all we’re thinking about outside of maybe the 60 or 70 minutes of training that we did. We’ve just got to be there for them now. It’s not about us. It’s not about anything else. It’s about minding them now over the next few weeks.”
This weekend will be an emotional occasion, but Munster know that it will not put a closing seal on the feelings they and Foley’s family and friends are experiencing.
“I was lucky, I grew up following him around the place, even though he didn’t know it,” said O’Mahony. “And then to be allowed to come in and rub shoulders with guys like him…
“He’d just finished up playing when I came into the academy and into my development contract but for him to be around and to be allowed to talk to him and be in his presence, it was a dream come true at the time and it stayed that way up until last weekend.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
