Memory of Anthony Foley looms large as Munster travel back to Paris
Wednesday 4 January 2017 00:02, UK
The tragic passing of Anthony Foley will be at the forefront of Munster's minds when they travel to Paris to take on Racing 92 on Saturday.
Then Munster head coach Foley was discovered dead in his French hotel room on the morning of the initial date for the Champions Cup fixture in October at the age of just 42.
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The death of 'Axel' - a much beloved figure in Irish rugby - rocked the province to its very core and prompted a wave of tributes to flow in from throughout the sporting world.
Now Munster must retrace their steps and return to fulfil the fixture and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus admits it will be an emotional day for his squad.
"This week, apart from playing three European games in three weeks, it is also as everybody knows, that Axel passed away when we were due to play there last time," Erasmus said.
"That will definitely contribute to the whole thing. So far it is just trying to get through the week, train as hard as we can, as best we can and go and perform as well as we can, and channel that emotion in the right direction and for the right reasons.
"The players, senior players, management and supporters - all of us have to [remember him] - and I think that is great. We will keep trying to do it that way.
"We have internal things which we do in the team to remember him by, to play by and legend he was, to almost ratify that, and talk about that all the time. Internally he will always stay in our minds, but this week will be a bit amplified of course."
The death of Foley has served to galvanise a Munster squad that had struggled to find consistency over the past couple seasons.
In the first game following his death, Foley was honoured at a hugely emotional afternoon in Thomond Park as Munster blitzed Glasgow Warriors and the team have carried on that good form with eight wins from nine games since that fateful October trip to Paris.
Captain Peter O'Mahony says the memory of Foley and the wisdom he imparted will always loom large in the minds of Munster's players.
"I don't think it's in the back of our minds every week, it's in the forefront over the last two or three months," O'Mahony said. "Every week we think about him and every day. It won't be any different this week.
"All the things Axel brought into his coaching resume are stamped all over what we're doing at the moment. We talk about him every week in most meetings. That won't change this week."
Munster - who currently sit top of the Guinness PRO12 - can take control of Champions Cup Pool 1 if they can defeat Racing 92, who have failed to take a single point from their three games so far.
With qualification out of reach, Racing could elect to rest some marquee players such as Dan Carter to keep them fresh for the Top 14 but O'Mahony insists Munster will not take them lightly.
"They're a hugely physical side and they've got some quality in their ranks," O'Mahony said of Saturday's opponents. "Given their standings in both competitions I think they'll put in a huge performance over the weekend.
"We're preparing for the best team that they can put out and we're prepared for a big performance as well. You don't have to look too hard to see that they're a very proud team. They might not be in contention but they're hugely proud at home."
