Fierce rivals on the field. Fierce respect off it.
Anthony Foley liked nothing better than doing a number on Leinster. ‘Axel’ enjoyed many battles with the Blues over the years, as player and coach, and always let them know they were in a battle.
Foley’s passing in Paris on October 16 stunned all of Irish rugby, and Leinster were no different.
There were kind, consoling words from the likes of Leo Cullen, John Fogarty and Mike Ross and they were always going to pay tribute to their old foe in Montpellier.
Ahead of their Champions Cup pool match with the Top 14 side, Leinster brought a Munster jersey into the away dressing room, which bore the No.8 that the legendary forward always wore with such pride.
Lovely touch from @leinsterrugby as they bring a @Munsterrugby No.8 jersey to France in tribute to Antony Foley #respect pic.twitter.com/aR1QgPlmVH
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 23, 2016
The players then took to the rain-soaked Altrad Stadium pitch wearing t-shirts of Munster red that featured ‘A.F’ at the front and 8 at the back.
They lined up as one and were only too happy to clap along as the minute’s silence quickly turned into a minute’s applause and appreciation.
The applause swept the entire ground and was a lovely touch from both Leinster and Montpellier supporters.
#RIPAxel pic.twitter.com/UP1xBv5bwm
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) October 23, 2016
This evening at Munster’s Thomond Park, the Leinster players donned red t-shirts with No.8 at the back.
The gesture did not go unnoticed by the Munster faithful.
Lovely touch from @leinsterrugby as they warm up wearing the number 8 #MUNvLEI #Axel pic.twitter.com/JEgD69bUdo
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/CianBohane/status/813433378817081345
Lovely stuff.
