The world of rugby has united in tribute to one of the giants of the game in Ireland, Anthony Foley, who died suddenly on Sunday two weeks before his 43rd birthday.

Foley, who won 62 caps for Ireland in the back row, was in Paris with Munster who were due to play Racing 92 in the European Champions Cup on Sunday afternoon. He had been the province’s head coach since 2014 and passed away in the team hotel.

The match against Racing was postponed at Munster’s request but hundreds of the club’s supporters gathered at Racing’s Yves du Manoir stadium in the north-west of Paris to pay tribute to a man who played 202 times for the province and captained them to Heineken Cup success in 2006. They held a vigil, giving an emotional rendition of The Fields of Athenry, and a group was allowed to lay a tribute.

Like his father Brendan, who learned of his son’s death after arriving at Racing’s ground, Foley played for Shannon, Munster and Ireland, in the centre of the pitch.

“I am absolutely devastated,” said the former Ireland and Lions captain Donal Lenihan, who was in Paris to commentate on the match. “At 42 years of age, things like this aren’t supposed to happen, especially to a fit, athletic man. I won my first caps for Munster and Ireland with Brendan and I remember Anthony in the dressing room as a young boy. He was destined to be a rugby player. It will take Munster a long time to recover from this shock.”

Foley, who was known to team-mates, friends and fans as Axel, afterthe Eddie Murphy character from Beverly Hills Cop, was part of Munster’s golden era as a player, making his debut in 1995 and his final appearance 13 years later. “He was one of the great figures of Irish sport in the modern era,” said the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins.

The former Wales flanker Martyn Williams, a playing contemporary of Foley’s, tweeted: “Absolutely tragic news about Anthony Foley. Thoughts are with his family and all @Munsterrugby.”

Before the start of the season Foley spoke about his determination to bring success back to Munster, whose crowds in Limerick have dropped in recent years. “There needs to be a positive, connected view around supporting Munster,” he said. “If it’s not the team you support, it’s the club you should support. The team on the pitch will ebb and flow; that’s the nature of sport. There’s no team ever who has been successful decade-on-decade. The club is the history, the thing you should follow and that should be the passion you have.”