Rassie Erasmus Recalls The Events In Paris Following The Tragic Discovery Of Anthony Foley

Today Munster are returning the scene where their whole world came crashing down.

The Irish province arrived in Paris back in October, full of confidence. Rassie Erasmus had come in and had an instant bond with head coach Anthony Foley and suddenly there was a buzz back around the province again.

Munster had pulled off some really good wins in the PRO12 and it seemed the players were back enjoying the rugby. First the first time in many years there was a real sense of excitement surrounding a Munster Champions Cup game

Racing were finalists last year, but there was that sense of hope with how things were going this season, that perhaps Munster could pull off an upset. We were in Limerick that day and suddenly a few text messages came in that something was up.

None of us believed it at first, we thought it was a misunderstanding, but much to our heartbreak it was true. Anthony Foley was dead. In Limerick we froze, but we simply can’t imagine what it was like for the Munster set-up over in Paris.

Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus has now shed some light on that devastating day.

“It was shocking, of course it was, horrible and unreal. The rest of the week was a bit of a blur but that day is still clear. Everyone will always remember those events,” Erasmus told the Telegraph.

“It was an absolute shock, to your system, to your emotions, to your reality. Everyone was standing around that day. What do you do? Usually the routine is so familiar, you get the team together and off you go.

“That day, you didn’t know what to do. To talk or not to talk? Where do we go? Do you wait for the paramedics to arrive? Do you tell the captain? Do you tell the rest of the coaches? And then, instead of going to the ground, we are on a flight back to Ireland.”

Today is going to be a really tough day for all involved. There’s an important game to be played, but this will always be on the back of everyones minds.

Let’s hope they can pull off a win for Axel.