It was one of the biggest rivalries in the world at the time…
Munster defeated Leinster in the 2006 Heineken Cup semi-final at the old Landsdowne Road.
Leinster came into the game as favourites having seen off giants Toulouse in a stunning game over in France and there was a lot of hype surrounding just how good that Leinster team could be, backboned by Felipe Contepomi, Brian O’Driscoll and Malcolm O’Kelly.
But Munster had other ideas on the day with Leinster just never getting going and they were blown away by the intensity of Munster.
Speaking about the match in the documentary Axel – Munster’s Heineken Cup journey, Jerry Flannery revealed what kind of leader Anthony Foley was both on and off the pitch.
Flannery played with Foley for many years both with Munster and Ireland and in later years was part of Foley’s coaching staff at Munster.
According to Flannery, Axel played a big role in preparing the team for that game.
“You hear people saying it”, Flannery said. “But when Axel was talking you’d listen to him. The Leinster game was probably the big one for me, I remember his talk in the game before we played Leinster in the Heineken cup semi final. That’s probably the best I’ve heard someone speak before a game. It sort of set the mood for the day.
“I suppose we were underdogs going into it, with all the talk about Leinster and there was a lot of hype in the media and everything. But it was like Axel pulled us all in before the game and said, ‘today’s the day where you just focus,’ – and I distinctly remember him looking up at us and saying, ‘today is a day for men.’
“That was it, it just sat the tone for the day and I remember Axel’s face in the tunnel coming out onto the field. He just embodied the way we wanted to be coming onto the field, he was just cold and played with a lot of pride and bittterness, I’ve heard him say that before, and it was just something I tried to take in.”
