Axel: A Memoir

On 20 May 2006, Anthony Foley held aloft the European Cup for Munster and cemented his position as a legend of Irish rugby.

With a father who played for Munster and Ireland - and who was a member of the team that conquered the All Blacks - it was no surprise that the young Anthony took to the game and he has shone on every team he has played for - from the St. Munchin's Junior Cup team to the Irish national side.

He was part of the Shannon side that dominated the 1990s, winning four All-Ireland league titles in a row and playing in all forty-eight games in that amazing record.

In a memorable debut for Ireland, he scored a try against England in 1995 and went on to gain over sixty caps and captain his country.

But it is with Munster - his true band of brothers - that Foley is most identified. He is the province's most capped player, holds the record for the most tries in all competitions and led them to glory in Europe.

In Axel, he looks back at a career of dizzying highs and sickening lows, at Ireland's often painful progression into the professional era and lets us in on what makes one of the last, great amateur players tick.