Ronan O’Gara, along with Donal Lenihan, have voiced their displeasure at Munster choosing to open their Champions Cup campaign at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.

This comes as Friday marks 10 years since former Munster captain and Head Coach Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley passed away in Paris the night before his Munster side were set to face Racing 92 in the Champions Cup.

And on Saturday, Munster will mark the anniversary as they face Racing 92 once again in the Champions Cup, but at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.

Munster have played several games at the home of Cork GAA in recent years, getting crowds of over 30,000 on each occasion; however, ticket sales earlier this week indicated only 20,000 tickets had been sold at the just over 40,000-capacity stadium.

And while there’s expected to be a late surge in ticket sales, it seems unlikely that it will sell out. In his column for the Irish Examiner, Ronan O’Gara has criticised the decision to play the match in Cork, and not in Foley’s hometown of Limerick.

The La Rochelle Head Coach said that the move was ‘another case of Munster Rugby not helping themselves’ and throughout the column reasoned why the match should be played at Thomond Park, and not at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Donal Lenihan also voiced that sentiment when he was speaking on Morning Ireland. The Ireland legend recounted the morning 10 years ago when Foley died, and described Axel by saying ‘you couldn’t get somebody who epitomised Munster more.’

He pointed out how the decision may have already been made of when to play in Cork because the Champions Cup draw saw The Red Army drawn with Gloucester, the side they faced at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last season.

‘But Munster looked at the draw originally and they have two home games – Racing at the beginning of the campaign and Gloucester at the end of the campaign in January,’ Lenihan explained.

‘And because Munster hosted Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year, it was felt that they couldn’t host them again, that they needed a more attractive side.

‘The decision was made months ago, were they aware of Anthony’s anniversary? It is unfortunate. Yes, it should be in Limerick to honour him.

‘To be fair to Munster, they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t. No matter what decisions they make these days, there seems to be issues with it. But all things being equal, I would say, yes, this game should be in Limerick.’