Tom Daly’s road less travelled takes him to the brink of Ireland debut

Daly has played, and prospered, in the AIL with Lansdowne, captained the Ireland sevens side as it took its first steps towards Olympic glory at their first tournament in Bosnia in 2015, and then rediscovered his feet at 15s way out west with Connacht

Tom Daly at Ireland training. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Tom Daly spent two years at Leinster but his path to Andy Farrell’s senior Ireland squad seems to have meandered through every distant outpost or unfashionable staging point known to rugby on this island.

Born in Carlow, he attended Knockbeg College. It’s a school better known for its GAA heritage and so his progress to the provincial academy came via the Youths system rather than the more usual and refined private schools means.

He has played, and prospered, in the AIL with Lansdowne, captained the Ireland sevens side as it took its first steps towards Olympic glory at their first tournament in Bosnia in 2015, and then rediscovered his feet at 15s way out west with Connacht.

He only went to Galway on loan at first, and as a medical joker at that, but things moved quickly from the moment he arrived late in 2018. Before he knew it he was turning out against Munster at a packed Sportsground on a Saturday night.

Some journey.

It had almost ended in 2018 when, having earned 11 caps for Leinster, injury stalled his progress and he found himself falling behind in the pecking order and wondering if he shouldn’t go back to college and just finish his degree.

“But luckily at the time, Connacht needed a back, and Andy Friend gave me a call and said he liked what he had seen in me and if I’d be interested in coming down on loan for the rest of the season.

“It just happened to be great timing and that move has worked out really well for my career.”

If it was hard to see this day coming at various points, then the picture became clearer once he landed in Galway. After years of games picked up here and there he was finally getting a flow of appearances together and his form reflected that.

Impressing in the last Christmas interpros showed a sense of good timing and Farrell contacted him prior to the naming of the Six Nations squad shortly after to let him know that the next step wasn’t all that far away and to work on a few specific areas.

Warren Gatland’s Lions selection pushed him further along the line. With Robbie Henshaw and Bundee Aki both poised for duties in South Africa, Daly knew there was space for some new faces in the Ireland midfield puzzle and so it has proved.

He’s 27 now, old enough for a rookie, but thrilled to have finally made it. “It’s been a long time coming from my All-Ireland League days. I was 18 or 19 when I was playing in that. You see young lads like Jordan Larmour and Hugo (Keenan) skyrocket into the team, go straight from the academy, one season with Leinster and into the Ireland team.

“That wasn’t the case with me. I went the longer route around. I played on every team that was put in front of me; A teams, provincial teams, it has taken that little bit longer. That makes it a little bit sweeter that I have finally got here.”

Daly was one among a host of former sevens players who was glued to a screen over the weekend as some old comrades beat France in Monaco and claimed the last of 12 berths in this summer’s Olympic Games.

He played with a good chunk of them: Billy Dardis, Jordan Conroy, Ian Fitzpatrick, Harry McNulty. Nick Timoney, a fellow new addition to Farrell’s 15s squad, is another with a sevens background and the pair joked about how they wouldn’t get near that Tokyo-bound side now.

To be blunt about it, Irish rugby needs more stories like Daly’s: men who have taken the road less travelled, benefited from it and made their way to the summit, regardless of whether that happens via the Youths sector, sevens or the AIL.

It’s six years since he won both an AIL U20s and a senior title with a Lansdowne side that has proven such a rich source of raw materials with a handful going on to play provincially and the likes of Daly, Peter Dooley and Tadhg Beirne graduating on to even bigger things.

“That Lansdowne team in 2015 was pretty incredible. I think 75 or 80% have gone on to play professional rugby, Leinster, sevens, Connacht or abroad. There is a good chunk of us down in Connacht.

“When I was in Leinster the majority of my rugby would have been playing in the AIL with Lansdowne. That team coached by Mike Ruddock was pretty much a professional team, a professional set-up they have there. It was a big part of my development.”