Foley’s 2014 Comments On Tyler Bleyendaal Are A True Mark Of The Man He Was

Tyler Bleyendaal’s move to Munster almost fell through only for Anthony Foley.

The Kiwi was set to join the southern province in 2012 before a serious injury scuppered the move. Head coach at the time Rob Penney, highly rated him so Munster kept tabs.

Penney left, but Munster, under the guidance of Anthony Foley, made a move for the talented playmaker and signed him up on a three-year deal. Disaster then struck again, when young Kiwi suffered a serious neck injury that put his career in doubt. Many at the time expected Munster to simply cut their losses and move on.

Anthony Foley was having none of it.

Asked at the time about the Bleyendaal situation, Foley said once the player has signed a deal he was a Munster player and the province would look after him accordingly, and with respect. He told reporters:

“We as a club need to look after the player and it’s not a piece of meat we are dealing with.

“It’s a human being, so there is a human side to this that we need to manage, and that is what Munster is about, it’s about the people. If a player has committed to us in terms of contract we need to make sure we are looking after this player as well.”

Top class from the late, great, with Bleyendaal repaying the favour last weekend, playing his best game ever in a Munster jersey, in honour of Foley.