It's never easy for Munster, and they are often an emotional team, but this week was like no other. Saturday night’s 33-25 win over Racing 92 came ten years and one day on from the sad passing of then-Munster head coach Anthony Foley, on the eve of a fixture against the same team.

Few moments summed up like the poignancy of the occasion like what followed the full-time whistle, as a large group of players, coaches and staff gathered in the middle of the Cork field to sing the club’s unique anthem, "Stand Up and Fight".

Double-centurion Jack O’Donoghue was a young 22-year-old when Munster did the same thing in their win over Glasgow Warriors, in Thomond Park on the day after Foley’s funeral. He is a wise 32-year-old veteran now, but the emotion remains the same for the Waterford man.

"For me personally, it was very emotional", the Waterford native said.

"I stood in that circle ten years ago as a young fella just coming through.

"I was asked after the game what Axel meant to me and he gave me my first opportunity. He put time and effort into me and sitting down as an academy player, watching videos, watching training and teaching me the little intricate bits of the game.

"To be ten years on and to still be in that circle, it was very emotional for me because it means a hell of a lot to me.

"It means a hell of a lot to still be in this group and to still play. Putting in a result and getting a result like that, it meant a lot."

Foley’s wife Olive presented the team with jerseys during the week, and attended Friday’s captains run, Foley’s anniversary. For O’Donoghue, who admits to having kept touch with the family over the past decade, it was a poignant and symbolic moment.

"It was incredibly powerful. She's an incredibly powerful woman, and she speaks a lot about belief and belief in God and how that has helped her", O’Donoghue said.

"She's someone I've actually stayed in touch with since Axel passing, and it was just great to see her and to show how strong of a woman she is. To be able to stand in front of us 10 years on and to present us with our jerseys, it meant a hell of a lot.

"And to show the strength that she has, it just filled me with massive strength as well, that you know you could go out and face anyone, the way she spoke in the dressing room before our captain's run."

Munster’s current head coach Clayton McMillan only arrived into Ireland in the summer of 2025, but also spoke fondly of the legendary figure.

"I didn't personally know the man, but you actually feel like you know him through the constant mentioning and presence of his name. That's been really good for me and the other guys that are not necessarily from Munster but want to understand him and the legacy of Munster.

"I thought the players managed the week really well.

"We had some disruptions. We had one day in at UL, a normal training base. They had a big (EU) function there with a whole lot of dignitaries. We weren't able to go to our own base. We adapted. We changed up the week.

"That, along with everything going on with the memorial around Axel meant it was a different week, but I thought they showed a huge amount of professionalism and just kept their emotions in check."

An emotive night needed a performance to match, and however tetchy it looked heading into the final 20 minutes, the two-time champions had enough in the locker to see it out.

It leaves them exactly where they want to be after round one. Racing 92 tried to spoil the party, but came up narrowly short in a game in an imperfect melodrama under the Cork spotlights.

Last year, Munster bookended a disappointing campaign with a 40-14 away drubbing in Bath, and a shock 31-29 home defeat to Castres. The back rower was just happy to get over the line on the night however, however spoiled by the new bonus points rules that they may have been.

"I'm really proud of the performance that we put in to get the result," the 32-year-old added.

"It's a tough, tough week, you know, with the emotions, to try to keep them down and to focus on your job and to put down a performance like we did.

"I think to come away with the four points is huge and exactly what we wanted to do and exactly what we set out at the start of the week to do."

Any lingering doubt can be parked for now at least, with the two-time champions' next European fixture still eight weeks away in a novel pairing with Bristol Bears. Before that, a trip to Dublin next week to face Leinster in the Aviva Stadium.