Foley Emphasises ‘Home’ Advantage

…Munster captain Anthony Foley at Tuesday’s press conference…

Munster captain Anthony Foley reckons his team and supporters will have no problem turning Lansdowne Road into a home from home for Saturday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Perpignan (kick-off 5.30pm).

Munster may not have played collectively at headquarters for close to eleven months, but speaking at Tuesday’s press conference in Limerick, Foley admitted that being away from the ground for so long would not be an issue for his men.

“It is important to remember that we lifted a cup – the Celtic Cup – on our last visit to Lansdowne Road (last May). We have nine guys back from the Six Nations who had a great run at Lansdowne Road and will have a good feeling going back up there,” insisted the 32-year-old number eight, for whom Saturday will mark his 74th Heineken Cup appearance.

Incredibly, the tussle with the French side will be Munster’s 75th in the competition.

“I’m told there isn’t a ticket to be found and we just hope that the same atmosphere that would have greeted Perpignan at Thomond Park will greet them at Lansdowne Road, but in much larger numbers,” he added.

“That said, they obviously don’t fear going to a big team’s ground – especially after beating Bourgoin last weekend. They’re a well seasoned side. A lot of the team we would have played two or three years ago are still around so we’ll be fairly familiar with each other.”

Munster have played Perpignan on four previous occasions in the Heineken Cup – each game being in the pool stages – with the Irishmen garnering two wins and two defeats.

The sides’ last meeting was a 23-8 win for the Catalan club at the Stade Aime Giral in January 2003. Foley scored Munster’s only try that day – and who’s not to say he won’t score again on Saturday and crown a win which he says his charges are “well capable of getting.”