Foley was one of Irish rugby’s most prominent figures whose father was also capped for his country.

In a tribute, the president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, dubbed Foley “one of the great figures of Irish sport in the modern era”.

As a robust backrow forward, Foley led Munster to European Cup victory in 2006 with victory over Biarritz in Cardiff and went on to win 62 caps for Ireland, captaining the national side on three occasions, his last appearance coming in 2005 after debuting 10 years earlier.

He played 86 European matches for Munster, including a record 71 consecutive games, and retired in 2008 as the club’s most-capped player with 194 appearances for the provincial side.

Here, we pick out Tweets from stunned former teammates, opponents and admirers of the former Irish backrower.