“One of the heartbeats of everything that was good about Munster Rugby.”
Former Ulster and Ireland winger Tyrone Howe fought the tears on Sky Sports when they broke the shocking news of Anthony Foley’s death at half-time of the Ulster-Bordeaux game.
An absolute tragedy.
Anthony Foley was only 42 #RIP https://t.co/sw4pYMGmAQ— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 16, 2016
Understandably, Howe’s fellow pundit Alan Quinlan did not appear on camera again once the news became public. Together with David Wallace, Quinlan formed one of the greatest back-rows in Irish rugby history alongside Foley and the former Munster flanker could not have been expected to go on television after hearing of the death of his former team-mate and friend.
Howe, however, hung in there. He was also a former team-mate of ‘Axel’, with many of his 14 Test appearances between 2000 and 2004 coming alongside the Munster Number 8.
Through the tears he paid a heartfelt tribute to Foley, the man and the rugby player.
“He had a great sense of fun. He would get the giggles and everyone would giggle with him,” said Howe. “He was big in every way. Big personality, big sense of humour. [He was] generous to a fault.”
Howe, who would have battled against Foley’s dominant Munster side on many occasions, reminded viewers of the importance of the province’s head coach to their history.
“One of the heartbeats of everything that was good about Munster rugby. In Ireland there are four provinces and we try and beat the living daylights out of each other when it comes to on the pitch but it is a big family.”
