The spirit of Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley, the Irish, Munster and Shannon RFC rugby legend, who unexpectedly passed away in Paris last month, will be evoked again this weekend when the All Blacks take on the Irish in Dublin.
We saw the Irish rugby team stand in a figure of 8, the player number of Foley, when they faced the All Black haka in Chicago, USA. Previous to that meeting Ireland had played the All Blacks 29 times in the last 111 years and they had never tasted victory. The score of 40 – 29 was also the score-line for the game the last time Foley played for Ireland against the All Blacks. Spooky.
The Maori All Blacks played Munster the following week at Thomond Park in Limerick, Ireland in front of a sell-out crowd. Before the Maori haka, in the pouring rain and looking like a scene from the Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, Captain Ash Dixon with three warriors strode out and placed a Maori All Black jersey with the letters AF printed on the back in front of the Munster team. As tradition dictates he retreated back into the ranks of the haka formation, without taking his eyes off the Munster team, and proceeded to lead the team in an emotional haka to the jersey and the opposition. Once the haka was finished Ash Dixon came forward and presented the jersey on bent knee to Foley’s two sons. This is the greatest sign of respect a New Zealand team can show to a fallen warrior and you can feel the emotion and passion even when you watch it on a replay on the other side of the world. The Munster team that day went on to win the game 27 -14, putting up an incredible second half display that will be talked about on the banks of the River Shannon for generations to come.
To understand why Foley is held in such high regard one must first travel back to the year of 1978 when Foley was a young boy watching his father play rugby in the Limerick sunshine. That day his fathers’ team, Munster Rugby, achieved what no other Irish team has managed to do until then. They beat the All Blacks. Thomond Park is famed for its passionate, noisy crowds that sing a stirring rendition of the Irish Ballard, The Fields of Athenry, while also having complete silence when a kick is being taken at goal. It is now part of rugby legend and New Zealand rugby will always have a soft spot for Munster and Munster’s sons. Maybe it’s because at the time Southern Ireland was a lot like a New Zealand provincial town – family orientated, community minded and based around the local pub and the rugby club.
From that day on Foley was only ever going to have Munster rugby running through his veins. He followed his father into the ranks of his local club of Shannon RFC and progressed to provincial rugby representing Munster 202 times and leading the province to their only Heineken Cup victory in 2006. He was capped 62 times for Ireland and when he hung up his playing boots he began coaching the Munster Team. He ended his days as the head coach of Munster, in Paris the day before Munster were due to play Racing 92 in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
This Saturday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin more than 51,000 rugby fans, both Irish and New Zealand, will witness a haka delivered with respect and passion. They will stand and sing a stirring rendition of the Munster anthem, The Fields of Athenry, as the two teams go to battle in what many are calling the rugby game of the year. Many of the fans and players will have their hearts full of the spirit of Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley.
