Munster provided five members of the starting line-up which accounted for England in Sundays RBS 6 Nations clash at Lansdowne Road.

Although they have so far failed to win the Heineken Cup, the provincial outfit feature regularly at the business end of the tournament and reached two semi-finals under departing coach Alan Gaffney.

Foley believes the experience gained by players such as Peter Stringer, Ronan OGara and John Hayes from the competition have helped elevate Ireland to the status of serious title contenders.

He said: Munster clicked into gear in 1999-2000 and the momentum that was created from the Heineken Cup helped a lot of players move up to the national team - guys like Stringer, OGara and Hayes.

These guys were catapulted onto the Test scene and havent looked back since. They are all established internationals now and their experience of playing at such a high level with Munster has helped Ireland.