Muscling his way back in

It hurt, made him angry

It hurt, made him angry. He felt victimised, not so much by implied criticism of a damning fitness report but the manner in which it was presented for public consumption. Anthony Foley bristles in recollection:

"Basically what happened towards the end of last season really annoyed me. That stuff released to the press, the articles written, got up my nose. It was very upsetting to be attacked on a personal level.

"There were others attacked. I don't think that was called for in the way in which it was done."

Foley, along with several other players, suffered when a fitness report was leaked to journalists. It was a familiar brickbat but a painful one nonetheless.

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Foley will always remain susceptible to the whispers of those who judge by appearance. Admittedly, in years gone by some of the wounds would have been self-inflicted in terms of physical conditioning, but not any more.

In conversation with players in the Munster squad, they unanimously dispel the myth that Foley is cavalier in his physical preparation: quite the opposite. No matter how many or how few are in the gym, he is there.

A growing maturity enables the 26-year-old Shannon number eight to reflect more philosophically on the perception of public and media alike.

"Last summer was the first that I haven't been abroad. It allowed me to get two months of good pre-season work done. When you are touring, you require rest on returning and that means that your pre-season is only about three or four weeks. "To me, fitness is a tool that helps you. I was able to work harder last summer because I had the time to do it. Fitness does not make an average player a great one; it only helps you to perform. "At the moment I don't worry about my fitness. Even when we (several Munster players) were being criticised last year, we were the interprovincial champions and had reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup. Most of the criticism is water off a duck's back, but if it gets especially personal then it gets annoying."

His father, Brendan, was capped 11 times in the second row for Ireland, and it may have seemed destined that Anthony would become a rugby player; not so. In his formative years the young Foley demonstrated a preference for the parish jersey (Killaloe). At 16, he was faced with a choice of rugby or Gaelic games. "It was the crunch year when I had to choose which way to go.

"Schools rugby starts becoming more serious then. You could see the world and have a job with it. I felt that I would be better off putting my eggs in one basket and it has worked out that way."

Foley suffered two of the more painful setbacks in his rugby career during those school days.

The anguish of losing the 1992 Munster Schools' Senior Cup final to PBC Cork and a heart-breaking, injury-time loss for Ireland against New Zealand in a schoolboy international - Jeff Wilson kicked the winning penalty - are scars that remain vivid.

At 18, he broke into the Shannon team, and never missed a match in the club's four-in-a-row All-Ireland League odyssey. His progress earned him a call-up to the provincial and international squads, and he was capped for the Ireland under-21s and then in 1994 for Munster. Four interprovincial titles were interspersed with nine caps for Ireland; he even scored a try against England on his debut.

But since the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, Foley has managed only two caps, the last as a replacement against England in 1997. A poor development tour to New Zealand under the then Irish coach Brian Ashton precipitated his international exile. "I tend to try and forget about that tour," he says. "Looking back, it sends a shiver down the spine."

When Warren Gatland took over Foley forced his way into the touring party for South Africa in the summer of 1998. He captained the midweek side twice, scoring tries in both matches.

Throughout his exile from the national side Foley has offered a comfort blanket to a succession of national selectors, but he appeared to be stuck in the rut of Ireland A representation. This season his form has thrust him firmly towards the senior side: no number eight is currently playing to greater effect. While questions are raised about his pace, few will argue against his innate footballing ability, a trait that has been evident since his school days.

So what's it like to be an intelligent footballer? Foley laughs: "I am in a position at number eight, like nine and 10, of being a key decision maker. I enjoy that responsibility. "Rugby is a simple game and it is all about focusing on key areas, trying not to overcomplicate matters. It's about small things, like making sure the front five know where they are going when they get up off a scrum. It's getting patterns going that gets you to a point of contact two or three yards ahead of the opposition.

"On a personal note, I am a lot wiser now. I read the game better. You obviously need a certain fitness to play the game at this level, but the players who read the game well waste less energy. There's no point in going off gung-ho if you don't fulfil the basic functions. It's also about balance.

"At Munster we are capable of playing it every which way. I get my chance to run with the ball, at other times to try to win it. It's about variation, a rounded approach.

Foley has always been surrounded by faster or more flashy players, but none works harder or more selflessly than the Shannon man to provide opportunities for those around him. Nor is he a simple bosh merchant; his excellent handling and appreciation of space and peripheral vision decry such a notion.

Munster's European Cup clash with Saracens at Thomond Park today preoccupies his thoughts; the announcement of the national squad next Tuesday has been shunted to the back of his mind.

"When you were younger you might try to pull out a performance if you knew a selector was present. My goal is to win today. I'm not playing for a spectator in the stand no matter who he is; I'm playing for Munster.

"I never felt my international career was over, I've always been pushing to try to get back. I love to be in from the start rather than be brought in later." Whatever happens today, Foley should be a shoe-in for the 44-man squad. What he can accomplish both this afternoon and next Saturday at Sardis Road, Pontypridd, is two 80-minute performances that will pave the way for his return to the senior national squad and allow Twickenham on February 5th to herald the resurrection of his international career. He has earned the chance.