Anthony Gerard Foley (30 October 1973 – 16 October 2016) was an Irish

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and head coach of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. He was attached to the same squad during his professional playing career. He was a member of the Munster team that won the

2002–03 Celtic League The 2002–03 Celtic League was the second season of the Celtic League, a rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Euro ...

and was the winning captain during their

2005–06 Heineken Cup The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005. Munster won the tournament, beating Biarritz ...

success. Foley played for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from 1995 until 2005 and captained the squad on three occasions.

Schools rugby

In March 1989, Foley led St. Munchin's College to victory in the

Munster Schools Junior Cup The Munster Schools Junior Cup or Munster Junior Cup is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Munster Branch of the IRFU with team members under 16 years of age. The competition has been traditionally dominated b ...

. He later represented Munster and Ireland Schools on several occasions over two seasons, notably during the 1992 Irish Schools tour of New Zealand. Winning six games out of eight, Ireland narrowly lost the final game to a New Zealand side featuring

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsm ...

at number 8. A controversial Jeff Wilson penalty-goal won the game in the final minutes.

Club career

Foley made his professional debut for

against

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

in November 1995, a game that was also Munster's first ever

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

fixture. He was in the Munster team that lost 8–9 to

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

in the 2000 Heineken Cup Final, and was again the runner-up when Munster lost 15–9 to

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in the 2002 Heineken Cup Final. Foley was finally on the winning side when Munster won the

. When

Mick Galwey Michael Joseph Galwey (born 8 October 1966) won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with the Kerry GAA, Kerry Gaelic football team in 1986, as a 19-year-old, before turning to rugby union. He is thus the only winner of an "All-Ireland" i ...

resigned as Munster captain, Foley narrowly lost to Jim Williams in a vote to decide the next captain. When Williams left Munster in 2005, Foley became the new captain, and in his first season in the position, he led Munster to victory over

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

in the

2006 Heineken Cup Final The 2006 Heineken Cup Final was a rugby union match played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on 20 May 2006, to determine the winners of the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition. The match was contested by ...

. Foley had played in all but one of Munster's first 78 Heineken Cup games until a shoulder injury sustained during Munster's 21–19 victory over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road in their first game of the

2006–07 Heineken Cup The 2006–07 Heineken Cup was the 12th edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. The pool draw took place on 21 June at Twickenham. The pool stages started on 20 October and concluded in January, going for six rounds. Foll ...

caused him to miss his side's subsequent victory over

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; ) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of the former comm ...

, as well as back-to-back games against

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in December 2006. He stood down as captain at the beginning of the 2007–08 season, making way for

Paul O'Connell Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. When he retired, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. Duri ...

. He was dropped for Munster's final fixtures of the

2007–08 Heineken Cup The 2007–08 Heineken Cup was the 13th edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The start of the tournament was delayed because of the 2007 Rugby World Cup ...

, and announced his retirement for the end of the season.

International career

Foley made his debut for

against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

1995 Five Nations Championship The 1995 Five Nations Championship was the 66th Five Nations Championship, the annual Northern Hemisphere rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was also the last Five Nations he ...

on 21 January 1995. He scored a try on his debut in an 8-20 defeat. He went to the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

in South Africa, and played as a replacement in one pool game against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

which Ireland won 50-28. He missed the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

, but was selected for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, featuring in two of the pool games against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Foley captained Ireland three times: in 2001 against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, and in 2002 against

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. His last international was against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in the

2005 Six Nations The 2005 Six Nations Championship was the sixth Six Nations Championship played since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the Home Nations and Five Nations Championships, this was the 111th season of the tournament. Wales ...

. In total Foley played in 62 matches for Ireland and scored 5 tries against England in 1995, Romania in 2001, Fiji in 2002, France in 2004, and Wales in 2004.

Coaching career

In March 2011, it was announced that Foley would take over as Munster forwards coach at the end of the 2011 season. He temporarily replaced

Gert Smal Gert Petrus Smal (born 27 December 1961, Kimberley, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player and assistant coach of the South African and Irish national rugby union teams. He is currently the forwards coach at Japanese Top ...

as Ireland's forwards coach during the

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was ...

, after Smal was forced to miss the remainder of the tournament with an eye condition. Foley signed a contract extension with Munster in May 2013. The following year it was announced that Foley would succeed

Rob Penney Robin Hugh Penney (born 27 April 1964) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former representative player. Generally known as Rob Penney he played in the positions of Flanker or No.8 throughout his career, most notably for Canterbury. He has s ...

as Munster's head coach, signing a two-year contract that began on 1 July 2014.

Personal life and death

He was married to Olive; the couple had two children. His father Brendan Foley and sister also played rugby for Ireland. Foley played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

for his local

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

club Smith O'Briens in the parish of

Killaloe, County Clare Killaloe ( ; ) is a small town in east County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on the River Shannon on the western bank of Lough Derg (Shannon), Lough Derg and is connected by Killaloe Bridge to the "twin town" of Ballina, County ...

. He lined out for Smith O'Briens GAA club in a Munster junior club football semi-final in 2010. He played inter-county

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

for Clare at underage level alongside former Munster rugby player

Keith Wood Keith Wood (born 27 January 1972) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a hooker at international level for Ireland, and the British & Irish Lions. He also played at club level for Garryowen, Harlequins and Munster. He was n ...

. Foley was nicknamed 'Axel', after the ''Beverly Hills Cop'' character. Foley died in his sleep on 16 October 2016, while staying at a hotel in the Paris suburb of

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

with the Munster squad; heart disease had caused an acute

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

. The team was preparing to face

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

in its opening game of the

2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup The 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup was the third European Rugby Champions Cup championship (22nd overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. The competition replaced the Heineken ...

. The match was postponed as a result of Foley's death. President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

and then-

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

made tributes to Foley, and the Irish flag flew at half mast at government buildings in Munster. Foley was brought home to Ireland on Wednesday 19 October 2016. His funeral took place on Friday 21 October 2016 at St Flannan's Church in

. On 22 October 2016, in the first game after Foley's death, Munster beat Glasgow 38–17 at a sold-out Thomond Park. Tributes were paid to Foley before, during and after the game and the number 8 jersey was retired for the game, with

CJ Stander Christiaan Johan Stander (born 5 April 1990) is a South African-born Irish former rugby union player. Stander's career began in his native South Africa, where he played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup between 2010 and 2012 and for the Bul ...

wearing the number 24 for the occasion. Before their historic first ever win against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on 5 November 2016, the senior Irish men's team paid tribute to Foley by forming a figure of 8, led by Munster's CJ Stander,

Simon Zebo Simon Zebo (born 16 March 1990) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a wing or fullback for clubs Munster and Racing 92 and for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. Early life Born in Cork, Zebo attended Beaumont Boys Schoo ...

Conor Murray Gerard Conor Murray (born 20 April 1989) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster. He is set to leave at the end of the season. Early life Murray was born in Limerick, where he atten ...

and

Donnacha Ryan Donnacha Ryan (born 11 December 1983) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. Ryan spent most of his career representing his native province Munster, spending 13 seasons at the club, before moving to French club Racing 92 in 2 ...

, to face the All Blacks'

haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

. Ahead of a game against Munster on 11 November 2016, the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is ...

team paid tribute to Foley by placing a jersey with his initials on the halfway line before performing a haka. Māori captain

Ash Dixon Ash Dixon (born 1 September 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who most recently played as a hooker for Green Rockets Tokatsu in the Japan Rugby League One. He formerly played for the in Super Rugby and for in New Zealand's domestic ...

then presented the jersey to Foley's sons. Munster went on to win the historic game 27–14. On 7 January 2017, further tributes were paid to Foley when the rescheduled Round 1 fixture between Racing 92 and Munster took place. At Ireland's World Cup Quarter Final match against the All Blacks on 14 October 2023 the team again formed a figure of eight when they faced the haka in tribute to Foley.

Legacy

To honour Foley's memory and contribution to European rugby, the EPCR announced that the 2016–17 European Player of the Year would receive the ''Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy''. The trophy was commissioned with the agreement of the Foley family and Munster Rugby and it is envisaged that it will be presented to all future European Player of the Year winners. In June 2017, a monument to Foley was unveiled in Limerick. In September 2017, Foley was posthumously awarded the ''

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

Patrons' Award'' at the annual Munster Rugby London Dinner. The award recognises an individual who encapsulated the values of Munster and was presented to Foley's parents. Over €39,000 in proceeds from the special commemorative programme sold for Munster's match against

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

on 22 October 2016 was raised and donated to various good causes. He was posthumously inducted into the Munster hall of fame during the 2018 Munster Rugby Awards. Tributes were made to Foley on the fifth anniversary of his passing in October 2021. Munster played hosts to provincial rivals

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

on the day itself, with Connacht's captain Jack Carty presenting a special "Axel 8" jersey to Munster captain

Peter O'Mahony Peter James O'Mahony (born 17 September 1989) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a flanker. O'Mahony played as a flanker. During his career, O'Mahony has captained Presentation Brothers College, Ireland U18, Ireland U20, ...

before kick-off.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

Correct as of 5 July 2017

Honours

Shannon

* All-Ireland League: **Winner (5):1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02

Munster

: **Winner (2): 2005–06, 2007–08 *

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

: **Winner (1): 2002–03 * Celtic Cup: **Winner (1): 2005

Ireland

* Triple Crown: **Winner (1):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Individual

;Awards * RTÉ Sports Hall of Fame Award: 2016 * Munster Rugby Hall of Fame: 2018

References

External links

Munster ProfileIreland ProfilePro14 Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Anthony 1973 births 2016 deaths Deaths from pulmonary edema People educated at St Munchin's College Rugby union players from Limerick (city) Irish rugby union coaches Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby union team captains Munster Rugby players Munster Rugby captains Munster Rugby non-playing staff Shannon RFC players Rugby union number eights 1995 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players