• The forum is about to undergo some crucial server updates

    There may be a little downtime, but we'll be back online as soon as possible.

    Watch this thread for updates

Munster Rugby head coach Anthony Foley dies suddenly in Paris.

Swami

Swami

Telly Talk Supreme
Anthony Foley: Munster Rugby coach dies suddenly in Paris




Share this with

Copy this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/37672703
Read more about sharing.
_91945145_foley.jpg

Foley died in the Paris hotel where Munster were staying prior to Sunday's scheduled game against Racing 92
Munster Rugby head coach Anthony Foley has died suddenly at their team hotel in Paris.

Foley, 42, died overnight at the hotel, where the team were staying prior to Sunday's game against Racing 92.

The European Champions Cup game has been postponed following the former Ireland international's death.


A statement by the Irish Rugby Football Union said: "The IRFU and Munster Rugby pass on our deepest sympathy to all of Anthony's family and friends."

It added: "We ask for privacy for the family at this sad time."

Foley is survived by his wife Olive and three children.

_91945216_gettyimaged.jpg

Anthony Foley captained Munster when they won the European Cup in 2006
A decorated playing career
Foley, whose father Brendan also played for Ireland, made 201 appearances in the back row for Munster in a playing career that spanned 13 years.

He made his debut in 1995 against Swansea in the province's first match in the Heineken Cup - a competition in which he would later captain his side to victory in 2006, having twice finished as a runner-up (in 2000 and 2002).

He would also captain Ireland three times in winning 62 caps, having made a try-scoring debut in the Five Nations defeat by England in January 1995.

He was replaced as Munster captain by Paul O'Connell for the 2007-08 season, at the end of which he announced his retirement and joined their coaching staff.

Foley initially took over as Munster forwards coach in 2011 - a role he briefly undertook with Ireland during the 2012 Six Nations - before graduating to head coach in 2014 after the departure of Rob Penney.

Munster appointed South African Rassie Erasmus as the club's director of rugby in July but Foley's job title remained head coach.

'One of our game's truly great guys'
_91944116_capture.jpg

BBC Sport's Tom English: This is hard to comprehend. Incredibly sad. One of Munster's all-time greats.

Glasgow Warriors coach and former Scotland international Gregor Townsend: A sad day for rugby. Hugely influential figure in the game. A good man gone too soon. RIP Axel.

Welsh Rugby Union: Unbelievably sad news. Thoughts and prayers with all Anthony's family, friends and colleagues. RIP

Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan: It is hard to get your head around what has happened, a young man in the prime of his life taken away so suddenly.

Former Scotland international Craig Chalmers: Can't believe the shocking news about Anthony Foley. One of our games truly great guys and always a Munster and Irish rugby legend.

Former England international Brian Moore: Just heard the terrible news of the death of Munster's Anthony Foley - thoughts with his family - very sad indeed.

England international Mike Brown: Absolutely terrible and sad news. Thoughts are with all his family, friends and everyone at Munster.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper: Shocked by the tragic news of Anthony Foley. All at World Rugby send our heart-felt condolences and thoughts to family, friends and Munster.

Swami
 
Swami

Swami

Telly Talk Supreme
Anthony Foley: Munster head coach died of fluid build-up in lungs - coroner




Share this with

Copy this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/37676597
Read more about sharing.
_91949925_foleyireland.jpg

Anthony Foley earned 62 Ireland caps and captained his country three times
Munster head coach Anthony Foley died after a heart condition caused fluid to build up in his lungs, a French coroner has said.

The condition, known as acute pulmonary edema, was caused by "a heart rhythm disorder", an autopsy revealed.

Foley, 42, died on Saturday night at the hotel in Paris where Munster were staying before Sunday's scheduled game against Racing 92.


His funeral will be held in Killaloe, County Clare, on Friday at 12:00 BST.

Foley's body will be flown to Shannon Airport on Wednesday before being taken to the family home.

Funeral mass will take place at St Flannan's Church, with burial afterwards at Relig Nua Cemetery.

The death of the former Ireland forward could "be linked to a cardiac problem", a spokeswoman for the Nanterre public prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Other toxicological analysis is under way, with results due in the coming weeks.

Pulmonary edema means excess fluid collects in numerous air sacks in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

Foley's body was found in his room at 12:40 on Sunday by a member of hotel staff and a Munster player.

The European Champions Cup game was postponed.

Foley won 62 Ireland caps and made 201 appearances in the back row for Munster, leading them to their first European Cup triumph in 2006.

Swami
 
Swami

Swami

Telly Talk Supreme
Anthony Foley: Rugby stars among throngs paying respects to late Munster legend




Share this with

Copy this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/37722324
Read more about sharing.
_92005831_woodembrace.jpg

Keith Wood and Joe Schmidt were among those paying their respects as Anthony Foley's body was brought to his hometown church on Thursday
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and team captain Rory Best were among thousands who joined Anthony Foley's grieving family as his body was brought to his hometown church on Thursday.

Queues formed at St Flannan's Church in Killaloe as people paid their respects to the Munster and Ireland great, who died suddenly in Paris at the weekend.

His widow Olive and two young sons Tony and Dan, both wearing Munster jerseys, were supported by his father Brendan, himself a former Ireland international, amid emotional scenes in county Clare.


Foley's coffin, draped in a Munster flag, arrived just before 1300 BST to lie in repose throughout the afternoon and early evening prior to spending a final night in the family home ahead of Friday's funeral.


Jump media player
Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Jump media player
Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
will go ahead as a tribute to Foley, who rose to the position of head coach after his successful playing career with the Irish province.

Foley represented the Irish province on 201 occasions and captained them to their first European Cup triumph in 2006 before helping them regain the trophy two years later.

The number eight also won 62 Ireland caps and skippered his country on three occasions.

Swami
 
Swami

Swami

Telly Talk Supreme
Anthony Foley: A community struggles after the death of its favourite son
_90327437_fordycethm.jpg

By Tom Fordyce

Chief sports writer

Share this with

Copy this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/37710942
Read more about sharing.

Jump media player
Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Listen again - Anthony Foley: The Munster Man
_91999648_foley2_pa.jpg

The world of rugby has united to pay tribute to Anthony Foley in recent days
I thought I knew Foley: 62 caps in the back row for Ireland, 201 appearances for Munster, captain when they at last won the European Cup, head coach until his sudden death, aged 42, in Paris last Sunday. But I don't know him, not like Limerick does.

Right across town, from his old school at St Muchin's College, along Merchant's Quay by the banks of the River Shannon, past the grey walls of King John's Castle and out to the clubhouse of his old club side Shannon, nestled up under the main stand at Thomond Park, 'Axel' is being mourned. Except no-one is ready to say goodbye. This is a man being remembered in the present tense, not the past.

Shannon's clubhouse would be familiar to anyone who has played and watched the grassroots game. Polished beer taps, crisps behind long bar. Old team photos along the walls, the young faces of now aged men staring out with a cheeky grin. One special wall reserved for those who have gone on to wear the green of Ireland: Foley, his father Brendan, Mick Galwey, John Hayes. Peter Stringer, Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, Donnacha Ryan.

_92000956_foley3.jpg

Pictures of his time with Shannon, as well as in the green Ireland, line the walls of Foley's club
Noel Healy, former team-mate of Foley's for Shannon and Munster, his long-time golfing partner, now club president, is sitting behind an ancient wooden table, unable to make sense of any of it.

"Disbelief. Of course there's disbelief," he says, taking deep breaths.

"Our chairman phoned me on Sunday. I was in the car, and he told me to pull over. He said, 'Axel was found dead this morning in Paris.' I said, 'No no, you must mean Brendan.'

"I just broke down. I must have held traffic up for about 20 minutes, because I just stopped in my tracks. I can't get the memory of that 20 minutes back.

"Someone had to knock on the car window and ask me to move. Since Sunday, 12 o'clock, half my world has fallen apart."

Healy was there as a kid, sitting on the back wall, when a Munster team featuring Foley's father pulled off their famous win over the touring All Blacks in 1978. Today he is waiting for the body of his friend to be brought back from Paris, organising a guard of honour when the hearse comes past the rugby pitch where Foley made his name.

"We get through it with our club, our friends," he says. "The outpouring of grief has been huge - across Limerick, across Ireland. Sunday we opened our club at 3 o'clock, and it hasn't been closed since. It will remain open until Anthony is buried.

"We have at least 10 books of condolence already. We open them at 7.30am and we close them at 10pm, and I'm convinced if we left them open at night we'd still have people signing those books. It just shows what he was, and what he meant to people.

_92000954_foley2.jpg

Books of condolence at Shannon were soon filled as people flocked to honour Foley
"We have hugged and we have cried. Why wouldn't you get together on an occasion like this? You'd have to be made of stone. Our club, and all clubs in Limerick, are a family. And when something happens in a family, what do you do? You pull together."

And they are pulling together. Galwey is on the plane that will shortly land at Shannon, bringing his old team-mate home. Keith Wood, childhood friend, raised at rival club Garryowen, team-mate for Munster and Ireland, is organising Friday's funeral.

"It's been a shared experience," says Shannon chairman John Leahy, smart in his dark blazer and blue and black club tie.

"Rugby has always been the working man's game in this part of the world. They used to say, in the Shannon pack, that doctors would scrum down with dockers, and that's how it was.

"I use the word bereft. Anthony was a favourite son of this club. As a child he used to jealously guard his father's place in the dressing-room. He would go in there early, he would sit where his father used to sit, and he wouldn't let anyone else sit there until his dad came in. And he would sit in the same position himself in later years as a man, as a player."


Jump media player
Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Jump media player
Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Munster captain O'Mahony pays emotional Foley tribute
It feels horribly reminiscent of watching Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke as he clung to his official duties after the death of Phillip Hughes. It is both public and yet intensely private, difficult to watch let alone live.

"I'm not going to do him justice here," O'Mahony, teak-tough on the field, a young man in distress today, eventually manages.

"All the words I could say… He is, he is... he's been there since the start. Every team I supported in the red jersey he played in or coached.

"That he's gone is incredible. The rugby brain, and the man, and the friend, and the coach, and the brother that we've lost…"

A few miles to the north-west, the shirts of Munster and the school itself are tied to the entrance of St Munchin's school gates.

_91998576_foley1.jpg

The shirts of Munster and St Munchin's College line the gates at Anthony Foley's old school
"You could feel the atmosphere here on Monday morning," says principal David Quilter. "Two hundred pupils in the canteen, but no-one talking. Just whispering. You could feel the grief.

"We held an assembly. We stated that Anthony was proud of St Munchin's but St Munchin's was proud of Anthony. That we had lost a legend.

"Some of our students live next door to the Foleys. A lot live in the same parish. We made space and time for our pupils to grieve.

"He was a regular visitor. He was part and parcel of the place. We would often ring him to ask him to speak to our teams, and it was never no. Always 'I'll be in.'

"He was more comfortable in the dressing room than he ever was in the staff room. He would speak to the boys, and it would be a simple talk, but every word had meaning behind it.

"He would point at the crest at the jersey. He would talk about having pride in your school, pride in your jersey, pride in your team-mates. He would clench his fist and say, a closed fist of five fingers is much stronger than an open hand with five separate fingers. Bind together. Walk together."

Tears are forming again. "Anthony was the epitome of a Munster man. You have to be a team man, you have to be a man of actions, you have to be a man of total commitment.

"You have to be a man of respect for the opposition, but yes, you will leave your dent on every game. You will rally your team, you will rally supporters. It is all about family and it is about commitment. That's what it means to be a Munster man."

As bright afternoon turns to dark evening, a silence falls among the hundreds lining the suburban street outside Thomond Park.

_92000958_foley6_pa.jpg

Fans paid tributes to Foley at Thomond Park - home to both Shannon and provincial side Munster
The hearse ghosts quietly into view, flanked by two idling police motorbikes. Mick Galwey in the front, the coffin carrying Foley draped in the red flag of Munster. Noel Healy leads the singing of Shannon's anthem, 'There Is An Isle', and the men and women of Limerick join in.

Sometimes, when a famous son dies, there is a sense that those mourning loved that person but never truly knew them. Not here.

The whole of the city seems represented - old rugby men with old rugby faces, sharp-eyed kids in Munster jerseys on parents' shoulders, mothers in the stripes of Shannon, teenagers looking cold in Ireland hoodies. Those singing certainly loved Foley, but they knew him intimately too.

Later the cortege will stop at St Munchin's on its way to St Flannan's church in Killaloe, where Friday's funeral will be held and the body laid to rest. For now, men sing, and men cry.

Four days after his death in a foreign land, Foley is back amongst his own.

Swami
 
Swami

Swami

Telly Talk Supreme
Rugby stars make up guard of honour for Anthony Foley funeral
Share
Share this with

Copy this link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37721884
Read more about sharing.
_92016893_d4ec485a-fe5c-47f6-9809-4ae6afcb3047.jpg
Image copyright PA
Image caption Among the mourners were former Irish and Munster stars Paul O'Connell, Shane Byrne and Ronan O'Gara along with ex-Ireland teammate Brian O'Driscoll.
The funeral of former Munster head coach Anthony Foley has taken place in County Clare.

Foley, 42, died in Paris after a heart condition caused fluid to build up in his lungs.

He was found in his hotel room where Munster were staying before Sunday's European Champions Cup game against Racing 92.

On Friday, his coffin was carried into St Flannan's Church in his hometown of Killaloe.

Players from the province, past and present, formed a guard of honour.


Among them were former Irish and Munster stars Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer, along with ex-Ireland teammate Brian O'Driscoll.

_92012183_foley.jpg
Image copyright PA
Image caption His coffin was carried into St Flannan's Church in his hometown of Killaloe.
'Great dignity'
Hundreds of other mourners packed into the church and surrounding streets.

Foley is survived by his widow Olive and sons Tony and Dan.

Fr Pat Malone led the homily. He said: "It is fitting that we celebrate with dignity the life and achievements of a man who lived life with great dignity and personal and professional integrity."

Addressing Foley's widow, Olive, Fr Malone said: "You were his true love, and how good you were together.

"One could sense the strength of your relationship, the warmth of your love for each other, and the ways you supported each other through the easy as well as the difficult moments of life.

'Never walk alone'
"You complimented each other so well, yin and yang in perfect valve with each other."

He said Foley's presence was reassuring to those who knew him, and said "in Anthony's presence you knew you'd never walk alone".

Foley represented the Irish province on 201 occasions and captained them to their first European Cup triumph in 2006 before helping them regain the trophy two years later.

The number eight also won 62 Ireland caps and skippered his country on three occasions.

Swami
 
Top