I was lost before Connacht handed me dream chance: Daly
BACK in 2018, Tom Daly found himself at a well-trodden crossroads in Leinster.
The Carlow man wasn’t the first Leinster player left facing a big career decision, and he certainly won’t be the last.
Having risen through the ranks of his home province, Daly enjoyed a stint with the Ireland Sevens, but by the time he had returned, a serious knee injury suffered in August 2017 meant he missed the majority of the subsequent season.
From there, it was always going to be a long way back for Daly, who watched from the sidelines as many of his rivals made the kind of progress he had dreamed of.
The inevitable midfield logjam materialised and, to his credit, he was not content with picking up a pay cheque and being a bit-part squad player. Instead, Daly jumped at the opportunity to relaunch his career when Connacht offered him an initial loan deal, which quickly became a permanent move.
Last weekend, the 27-year-old returned to the RDS Arena and delivered his best performance since joining Connacht, as he set the tone in defence with ferocious line speed, while his aggressive carrying put his side on the front foot.
The bonus-point try late on was the icing on the cake for Daly, who hasn’t looked back since moving to Galway.
“It came at a point in my career where I was kind of lost,” he reflected. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. I can clearly remember getting the call from Andy Friend, I nearly took his arm off for the opportunity because there wasn’t much happening for me in Leinster.
“I was just back from a knee injury and I couldn’t really get back into the team, so I was looking around for contracts.
“There probably wasn’t that much coming up because I hadn’t been playing that often, so it was quite a tough time, but Friendy gave me a call on a random Sunday, said they had a few injuries and asked if I would be interested. I jumped at it.”
Had Connacht not come calling when they did, Daly’s career could have taken a different turn, but it has proven to be a real turning point for the centre.
“I was always looking to play on,” he said. “There was a bit of chat from other clubs in England but, being Irish, you want to stay in Ireland, every player’s dream is to play for Ireland.
“I was always looking for one of the other provinces, that would have been my first-choice, and it came at a good time. It has been the dream move.”
Daly is to get a chance to back up his outstanding display when Munster arrive on Saturday.