Saili tipped for big impact
The New Zealand centre is set to make his European Cup bow when the two-time winners take on Treviso at Thomond Park on Saturday.
Saili has already shown glimpses of his talent in his handful of appearances to date, and Munster will be hoping the former Blues man can flourish in the Northern Hemisphere's premier club competition as they look to advance from Pool Four, which also includes Leicester and Stade Francais.
"Francis definitely bring something different to our midfield," said former loose forward Foley. "We know he can be a devastating runner and he has some wonderful offloads up his sleeve, but he is also very solid defensively.
"We have already seen some really nice touches from him and he is someone we expect to make an impact. I played alongside guys like Lifeimi Mafi and Rua Tipoki who were tremendous centres, and Francis is very much in the same mould. He is a high calibre player, and we hope he will bring a lot to us as a team."
Foley, now 42, played in both of Munster's European triumphs, but is fully aware of how difficult a task they face just to reach the knock-out stages. However, he believes Munster's Thomond Park fortress can once again play a big role.
"We know no-one is going to want to come and play us in front of a packed house at Thomond Park. Winning your home games is going to be critical and we have a proud record at home," he said.
"So we will be looking to make it an uncomfortable as possible when sides come to us and then it is about picking up points on the road.
"It is a very tough pool – let's face it there are no easy ones – but we have a proud history in Europe and we should have guys back as part of the group from the World Cup so we will be ready to go."
Source: epcrugby
