"You cherish your moments in the jersey and respect the people who wore it before you…" Anthony Foley was giving me an insight into one of the secrets of the great Munster success story when he announced his retirement last week.

Anthony 'Axel' Foley has been one of the true legends of Munster and Irish rugby. He was destined to be a rugby player from the cradle, as his father Brendan had played for Munster and Ireland and was a member of the famous Munster team who beat the All Blacks in 1978.

Anthony will hang up his number 8 Munster jersey at the end of this season. It is a jersey he has truly worn with pride, playing in 85 Heineken Cup games and scoring 23 tries.

In fact, due to his scoring of three of the tries against Perpignan at Thomond Park in 2002, Anthony will never go hungry! Brian McGoey, the MD of Dominos Pizza, had laid down a challenge to the Munster team before the game that anyone who scored a hat trick would get pizzas for life.

Anthony said one of his proudest Munster rugby moments was stepping up to collect the Heineken Cup at the Millennium Stadium.

"It was a great day and we had a great couple of days after the win. It's something we will have for the rest of our lives," he said.

"We have won one Heineken Cup, one Magners League and one Celtic League. It's time to kick on and set our sights a bit higher. With the talent we have we should be winning more trophies."

Anthony said he would always remember those early days of the Heineken Cup. "One of the highlights back then was winning our first game in France against Colomiers in Toulouse," he said. "Claw had to cry off with an injured back the night before the game and Marcus Horan stepped in and played a great game. He scored a try as well, following an outrageous dummy. I also remember their full back trying his best to get out of the way of Keith Wood as he charged for the line. We ran over to thank the small band of Munster fans after the match. Only about 50 supporters travelled with us back then."