“There’s an insane level of mental strength there.”
That is what Jerry Flannery believes this Munster squad has shown after the tragic passing of Anthony Foley last October.
The province’s scrum coach, and former hooker, was a teammate and friend of Foley’s as well as being his fellow coach.
Ahead of Munster’s Champions Cup quarter final with Toulouse, this weekend, Sky Sports caught up with Flannery to get the insight story on an already unforgettable season.
He admits he had no idea the players would respond so well after the loss of their head coach during that fateful trip to Paris, late last year. He said:
“Man, if you ask me am I surprise how the players have responded with Axel. 100%. I never envisaged any of this happening.
“If you ask me, ‘What’s the one thing or most important thing you look for in a player?’, I will say ‘Attitude’.
“If he’s got attitude we can work with everything else. Everything else.
“The most talented guy with a crap attitude is no good to you.”
Attitude is something that has, thus far, driven Munster to two European Cup triumphs and brought them damned well close on lots more occasions. It hasn’t done them too bad this season either.
The full Flannery interview on Sky Sports is definitely worth the watch, with the game itself is live on SS2 from 5:15pm.
