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The overlooked Ireland U20s lock who forged an unlikely Super Rugby Pacific career
By Finn Morton
Cormac Daly was working in an office this time last year. The Irishman had come through the U20s pathway back home and gained experience with Connacht and Leinster, but the lock appeared lost to the professional game.
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Daly, who answered Ireland’s Call at the World Rugby U20s Championships in 2017 and 2018, had come through the academy ranks with Leinster as a teenager and seemed destined for higher honours. But life and rugby don’t always go to plan.
The talent out of North Kildare Rugby Club, which is about 30 minutes’ drive west of Dublin, moved on from Leinster’s junior ranks to link up with Connacht. Daly trained with the Westerners for quite some time before they signed him as injury cover after COVID-19.
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But as Daly explained, “(I) never really got a chance I thought I deserved.” The second-rower was desperate for an opportunity to prove himself, but after a season with Leinster in 2022, Daly thought his professional rugby career was over.
“Being with Leinster, they have so much talent there now. Looking at some of the lads you’re competing against, James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, stuff like that,” Daly told RugbyPass.
“Lads are even fighting for a spot to get on the training pitch let alone to play a match for them so that’s probably why they’re so good.
“The most frustrating thing about it was I never really got a chance that I thought I deserved,” he explained.
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“If I ever got the chance that I know I’d take it and I’d know that I’d be good enough to push on.
“When you don’t get the chance that’s when you lose confidence in yourself.
“I kind of thought I was getting a bit old, getting a bit on. Probably thought I’d missed the chance to play at a high level. Thankfully it wasn’t.”
Daly packed his bags and left professional rugby behind. The Irishman had missed out on “a lot of experiences” to travel abroad with friends over the years and wasn’t going to let this one slide.
The Irishman left the “freezing cold” behind by making the move to Sydney, Australia. Daly wanted to focus on enjoying himself Down Under but found his way back to the 15-player game with Randwick in Sydney’s illustrious Shute Shield competition.
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Former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles coached the Wicks to the glory that season. Randwick brought an end to 20 years of pain by snapping their long-lasting drought with a 17-15 win over Norths in the big dance at Leichhardt Oval last August.
By all accounts, the celebrations were immense.
Daly scored one of Randwick’s two tries in the final and secured a match-sealing steal at the death to deliver the famous shield back to the suburb in Sydney’s east. It was a history-making display from the Irishman who had taken that first opportunity with both hands.
“I came over just to come over and enjoy myself and to live in Sydney,” Daly said.
“Randwick got onto me then and we’re just a great match for each other. I got on with all the lads there, got on with the coaches, got on with everyone at the club.
“The rugby is a bit different to back home… it’s a bit more running rugby.
“I think it’s worked out well for me. Then obviously we won the league, the Shute Shield last year.. that was pretty special as well.”
But that was just the start of Cormac Daly’s rugby journey in Australia. After once believing there would be no more chances in professional rugby, the Shute Shield champion was recruited by the Queensland Reds.
Daly has played six matches off the pine so far this season, including a more than 30-minute cameo against the Brumbies at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in round six. The Irishman has already made his mark in a team that boasts plenty of quality.
“I do talk to some of the lads back home in Ireland… I’m over here, the weather’s unbelievable, getting a nice tan and stuff. They’re in the freezing cold back home,” he added.
“Not many Irish people get to play Super Rugby. It’s something cool that hopefully I can go on with now and something that I’ll look back on later in life as a pretty cool experience and not many people get to do it.
“You can probably count on your hands, on your fingers, how many Irish people play Super Rugby so it’s definitely something pretty cool.”
It’s true that Cormac Daly is the first Irishman to play Super Rugby for Queensland since international front-rower Peter Clohessy in 1997, so what you read next will come a bit out of left field.
Daly’s journey to the Reds is a full-circle moment.
Playing for the Ireland U20s side against Australia some years ago, Daly swapped jerseys with a young backrower on the rise. That man was Fraser McReight, as the pair spoke about recently. Daly also played against future Reds teammates Jordan Petaia, Tate McDermott, Liam Wright and more.
But that’s not all.
Queensland Reds boss Les Kiss coached an Ireland U20s side.
“To be able to work under him is a huge opportunity. To have someone of his calibre coaching, you’d be a fool not to want to be (playing).
“I’ve only been here a short time now and I feel like the last few months I’ve already gotten better and better. Every time I’m playing games now I feel like I’m getting better every week.
“Huge credit to the coaches… I’m just trying to hopefully fulfil as much potential as I can.
“It’s pretty special to be up north with someone like Les. He’s a great coach but first and foremost he’s a great man.”
Daly is playing with a renewed sense of confidence in Australia’s Sunshine State of Queensland. The coaches back their Irish recruit to do a job, and the second rower has delivered during a series of performances in Super Rugby Pacific.
What that could mean for Daly’s professional career moving forward – having only signed a one-year deal with the Reds – remains to be seen.
But for now, Daly is firmly focused on this season with the Reds.
“When I was younger I was always told I was good enough to play.
“Even when I was involved with Leinster and stuff, I was always told I was good enough to be here.
“You kind of seeing now when I’m playing… it’s just getting a bit of self-belief. Definitely, hopefully I can keep pushing on our performance with the Reds and see what happens then.
“The coaches really, really give me a lot of confidence.
“As I said, it’s something that I never thought I’d be doing now so I don’t want to take it for granted. I’m trying my best and hopefully putting my best foot forward every time I get on the pitch.”
Glad he could get his chance to play professional rugby.
This might turn out to be emblematic of a real issue in Irish rugby. Ireland have one of the best -if not the best - senior sides in the world, and one of the best under 20s sides as well, but don’t seem to be giving graduating under20s players many opportunities to break through into URC starting lineups. There is a risk that a lot of the junior talent they are developing will either be wasted, or lost to other nations.