Axel, A Memoir by Anthony Foley

 

Axel, A Memoir
Anthony Foley
Hachette Book Group Ireland

Munster’s most-capped player with over 200 appearances for the province. More Heineken Cup match appearances than any other player. An international career spanning eleven years, with sixty-two caps.  On 20 May 2006, he held aloft the European Cup for Munster and cemented his position as a legend of Irish rugby.
 Anthony Foley, one of Munster’s most-enduring and most-loved rugby players, announced his retirement from competitive rugby in January 2008. In Axel, Foley looks back at his outstanding career – at the highs and lows, and at the game’s often painful progression to professionalism.

With a father who was a member of the 1978 Munster side that conquered the All Blacks, it was no surprise Foley took to rugby and he has shone on every team he has played for – be it Shannon, Munster or Ireland.  Born in 1973, he scored a try on his international debut against England and was part of the Shannon side that won four All Ireland League titles in a row and dominated 1990s club rugby in Ireland. But it is his role with Munster – his true band of brothers – for which Foley will be remembered. He captained Munster sixty-three times, is its most-capped player, holds the record for the most tries in all competitions and led his province to European glory in 2006.
With a foreword by his childhood friend and fellow former international Keith Wood, and including a full stats history of Foley’s career, Axel lets us in on what makes one of the last, great amateur players tick.