The scale of loss is still hard to fathom.
Munster Rugby have lost their head coach, their first Heineken Cup winning captain, an icon, an inspiration and a major link in their history.
Anthony Foley was Munster born and bred. He was Shannon born and bred. As Ireland and Munster legend Donal Lenihan explained it on Sky Sports, “he was destined to be a rugby player”.
An absolute tragedy.
Anthony Foley was only 42 #RIP https://t.co/sw4pYMGmAQ— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 16, 2016
His father Brendan was a member of that iconic Munster side that defeated the All Blacks in Thomond Park in 1978 and, as Lenihan recalls, Anthony was a constant presence with his father in the dressingroom.
“I got my first cap for Munster with Brendan, his father, I got my first cap for Ireland with his father. So I remember Anthony right from those early days, as a young fella running around the dressingroom at Thomond Park,” said Lenihan.
“There was a great rivalry between Shannon and Cork Con, my club, and Anthony, even as a young fella, was always a presence. He was destined to be a rugby player.
“I can think of him, [when I was] playing for Ireland, this little figure in the corner, waving an Irish flag. So you obviously take an interest when you know them from such a young age.
“To see him progress up through the ranks with Munster and to go on and get capped by Ireland, almost in perfect symmetry with his Dad, who was on that Munster team that beat the All Blacks in 1978, that he was the one to lift the Heineken Cup for the first time, in 2006 on that incredible day in the Millennium Stadium.”
