Anthony Foley
Encyclopedia
Anthony "Axel" Foley is a retired Irish rugby union
footballer. He was educated at St Munchin's College in Limerick.
side that won 4 All-Ireland Leagues
in a row for the Limerick
club in the mid 1990s, with Foley playing in all 48 games of this sequence.
fixture.
He was in the Munster team that lost 8-9 to Northampton Saints
in the 2000 Heineken Cup Final
, and was again the runner-up when Munster lost 15-9 to Leicester Tigers
in the 2002 Heineken Cup Final
.
Foley was finally on the winning side when Munster won the 2002-03 Celtic League.
When Mick Galwey resigned as Munster captain, Foley lost by one vote to Jim Williams in a vote to decide to 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
in the 2006 Heineken Cup Final
.
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
caused him to miss his sides subsequent victory over Bourgoin
, as well as back-to-back games against Cardiff
in December 2006.
He stood down as captain at the beginning of the 2007-08 season, making way for Paul O'Connell
. He was dropped for Munster's final fixtures of the 2007-08 Heineken Cup
, and announced his retirement for the end of the season.
Foley held a number of records at the end of his career. He held the the record for most European caps (86) until it was beaten by John Hayes
. He was the first Munster player to reach 200 caps and was the most capped player (with 202 caps) until Alan Quinlan
overtook this record in September 2010. Foley still holds the record for most tries by a forward in the Heineken Cup, with a total of 23. His career total of 39 tries for Munster placed him only two behind the all-time leader Anthony Horgan
.
against England
in the 1995 Five Nations Championship
on 21 January 1995. He scored a try on his debut.
He went to the 1995 Rugby World Cup
in South Africa, an played in one pool game against Japan
.
He missed the 1999 Rugby World Cup
, but was selected for the 2003 Rugby World Cup
, featuring in two of the pool games against Romania
and Australia
.
Foley captained Ireland three times: in 2001 against Samoa
, and in 2002 against Romania
and Georgia
. His last international was against Wales
in the 2005 Six Nations
.
In January 2011, he teamed up with Eric Elwood
to coach Ireland Wolfhounds in their friendlies against Scotland A and England Saxons
.
In March 2011, it was announced that Foley would take over as Munster forwards coach at the end of the 2011 season.
Foley will also be cooperating with Eric Elwood again in January 2012, when the duo coach the Wolfhounds in their friendlies against Scotland A and England Saxons.
12-0 in Thomond Park
in 1978, and who was commemorated in the play Alone it Stands
. His sister Rosie was a member of the Irish women's rugby union squad.
He is married and has two children.
Foley's autobiography, 'Axel: A Memoir', was released in October 2008.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer. He was educated at St Munchin's College in Limerick.
Shannon
He was part of the ShannonShannon RFC
Shannon Rugby Football Club is an amateur rugby union team from Ireland, they hail from Limerick near the banks of the Shannon river. The club is a member of the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch and as one of the top amateur sides in Ireland has seen many of its players progress to...
side that won 4 All-Ireland Leagues
AIB League
The Ulster Bank All-Ireland League is the national league system for the 48 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is not, however, the highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play...
in a row for the Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
club in the mid 1990s, with Foley playing in all 48 games of this sequence.
Munster
Foley made his debut for Munster against Swansea in November 1995, a game that was also Munster's first ever Heineken CupHeineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
fixture.
He was in the Munster team that lost 8-9 to Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
in the 2000 Heineken Cup Final
2000 Heineken Cup Final
The 2000 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup, the fifth season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 27 May 2000 at Twickenham Stadium in London. The match was contested by the Northampton Saints of England and Munster of Ireland. The...
, and was again the runner-up when Munster lost 15-9 to Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
in the 2002 Heineken Cup Final
2002 Heineken Cup Final
The 2002 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2001–02 Heineken Cup, the seventh season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 25 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The match was contested by the Leicester Tigers of England and Munster of Ireland...
.
Foley was finally on the winning side when Munster won the 2002-03 Celtic League.
When Mick Galwey resigned as Munster captain, Foley lost by one vote to Jim Williams in a vote to decide to 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
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
in the 2006 Heineken Cup Final
2006 Heineken Cup Final
The 2006 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, the 11th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 20 May 2006 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The match was contested by Biarritz of France and Munster of Ireland. Munster won the...
.
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
Welford Road Stadium
Welford Road is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England and is the home ground for Leicester Tigers. It is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the edge of the city centre...
in their first game of the 2006-07 Heineken Cup
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...
caused him to miss his sides subsequent victory over Bourgoin
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club...
, as well as back-to-back games against Cardiff
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
in December 2006.
He stood down as captain at the beginning of the 2007-08 season, making way for Paul O'Connell
Paul O'Connell
Paul O'Connell is an Irish rugby union player who plays lock for Munster and Ireland. He also captained the British and Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to South Africa.-Early life:...
. He was dropped for Munster's final fixtures of the 2007-08 Heineken Cup
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.
Foley held a number of records at the end of his career. He held the the record for most European caps (86) until it was beaten by John Hayes
John Hayes (rugby player)
John Hayes is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup for Munster. Having spent his underage career playing with the local Cappamore GAA club, he was 18 when he started playing rugby. It was his size which enabled him to overcome his late start to the sport...
. He was the first Munster player to reach 200 caps and was the most capped player (with 202 caps) until Alan Quinlan
Alan Quinlan
Alan Quinlan is an Irish rugby union player. He played for Munster and is registered to the AIB League side Shannon. He retired from rugby in May 2011.-Career:...
overtook this record in September 2010. Foley still holds the record for most tries by a forward in the Heineken Cup, with a total of 23. His career total of 39 tries for Munster placed him only two behind the all-time leader Anthony Horgan
Anthony Horgan
Anthony Horgan is a former Irish rugby union player, who played for Munster and Ireland. He played as a Winger.-Munster:...
.
Ireland
Foley made his debut for IrelandIreland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
in the 1995 Five Nations Championship
1995 Five Nations Championship
The 1995 Five Nations Championship was the sixty-sixth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. It was also the last Five Nations held in the sport's amateur era, as rugby union's governing body, the International Rugby Football Board, opened the sport to professionalism on August 26 of...
on 21 January 1995. He scored a try on his debut.
He went to the 1995 Rugby World Cup
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....
in South Africa, an played in one pool game against Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
.
He missed the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
, but was selected for the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, featuring in two of the pool games against Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
and Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
.
Foley captained Ireland three times: in 2001 against Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
, and in 2002 against Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
and Georgia
Georgia national rugby union team
The Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in rugby union. The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try"...
. His last international was against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in the 2005 Six Nations
2005 Six Nations Championship
The 2005 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the sixth series of the Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy...
.
Coaching
From 2009 until 2011, Foley was the Munster 'A' coach, leading them to the final of the 2009-10 British and Irish Cup. He was also the defence coach for Munster.In January 2011, he teamed up with Eric Elwood
Eric Elwood
Eric Elwood is a former rugby union player and was capped first for Ireland while playing for Connacht and Lansdowne before he returned to Galwegians RFC, the club of his youth....
to coach Ireland Wolfhounds in their friendlies against Scotland A and England Saxons
England Saxons
England Saxons is the current name of England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A...
.
In March 2011, it was announced that Foley would take over as Munster forwards coach at the end of the 2011 season.
Foley will also be cooperating with Eric Elwood again in January 2012, when the duo coach the Wolfhounds in their friendlies against Scotland A and England Saxons.
Personal life
Foley is the son of Brendan Foley, who was a lock in the celebrated Munster team that beat the All BlacksAll Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
12-0 in Thomond Park
Thomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...
in 1978, and who was commemorated in the play Alone it Stands
Alone it Stands
Alone It Stands is a play by John Breen that tells the story of the 1978 rugby union match at Thomond Park between Irish provincial side Munster and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks...
. His sister Rosie was a member of the Irish women's rugby union squad.
He is married and has two children.
Foley's autobiography, 'Axel: A Memoir', was released in October 2008.