In this business, you often reach for a pinch of salt when an athlete says they're 'taking every day as it comes’.
In the case of Cormac Daly, you fully believe it.
The Kildare man has taken the scenic route to professional rugby but, at the age of 25, he’s finally got his big shot, in a very unlikely place.
In October, the former Ireland Under-20 lock penned a two-year contract with the Queensland Reds, and is hoping to make his Super Rugby debut when they get their season under way against the Waratahs next Saturday.
It’s just over a year since Daly packed his bags and moved from Dublin to Sydney, swapping Clontarf for Coogee and the famous Randwick club, which has produced some of the biggest names in Australian rugby, such as Michael Cheika, George Gregan, Matt Giteau, Rocky Elsom and Eddie Jones.
Within a few months, Daly was a key player for Randwick and played every game as they won their first Shute Shield since 2004, scoring a try in the 17-15 win over Northern Suburbs in the final.
Those performances were enough to catch the eye of new Queensland Reds head coach - and former Ulster and Ireland coach - Les Kiss, who put a contract on the table.
"It was a bit surprising for me," Daly tells the RTÉ Rugby podcast, as he recalls the day he was offered a Super Rugby deal.
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Listen in full to Cormac Daly's chat on the RTÉ Rugby podcast
"Obviously, I came over to Australia last January, friends were coming over and I got a bit of employment here and was playing a bit of rugby over here.
"One thing led to another, and I signed a contract last October, and have been up [in Brisbane] since, straight into it, but I’ve been enjoying it. It’s been really, really cool, it’s something not many Irish people get to do so I’m trying to grasp it and just enjoy it."
While this is his first full contract, he’s had brushes with the professional game back at home.
Having been an Ireland U20 international in 2017 and 2018, the Kilcock native spent several months training with Connacht during the 2019/20 season, before the financial uncertainty around Covid-19 meant he missed out on a contract offer for the following year.
In 2022, he also completed a pre-season with Leinster, having shone for Clontarf’s All-Ireland-winning team that year, taking the man of the match award in his side’s win over Terenure in the final, before going on to be named Division 1A Player of the Year a few days later.
In November of that year, he was one of four ‘club’ players drafted in by Leinster head coach Leo Cullen for their friendly with Chile in Donnybrook, along with Terenure’s Conall Boomer and Dublin University pair Colm Hogan and Thomas Connolly.
"To play that game was huge," Daly adds. Three of those four are now involved in professional teams, with Hogan currently at Munster and Boomer recently joining Major League Rugby side Chicago Hounds.
"You see the likes of Leo Cullen, in the last few years, they [Leinster] seem to contribute a lot more to the league, they’re looking at the games a lot more and I feel like there’s a lot more players getting released back.
"It was a great recognition of the league in general; four of us were playing that day.
"Rhys Ruddock was playing that day, he has a crazy amount of caps for Leinster now, it’s pretty cool playing alongside someone like that."
Daly places huge credit on the club game in Ireland for getting him to where he is now.
His early rugby days were spent at North Kildare, before a lack of playing numbers there saw him spend a couple of seasons at Navan, where he won an U20 All-Ireland League; he joined Clontarf in 2017 after breaking into the Ireland U20s.
He was part of a star-studded Ireland U20 side that included Caelan Doris as captain in 2018, with Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Harry Byrne and James Hume among his team-mates.
And he says he takes particular pride in making his way through the age-grade system via the club scene, rather than through the traditional rugby schools.
"I was with Leinster Youths, I wear that badge proudly now.
"Leinster clubs team, Leinster U19s and Leinster U20s, a bit different to the schools system. I didn’t go to one of the big schools and came through the club. I’m pretty proud of that.
"It’s nothing against the Schools lads, but I think all the Youths lads would always have a bit of a chip on our shoulders. It’s just the way we are, we’re going up against it, we’re battlers.
"That was the way I look at it, a bit of a chip on the shoulder, and it gives you mental toughness that you've been through a bit of a slog. You just have to get any benefit you can from it."
The 6ft 6in forward won one All-Ireland League during his time at Clontarf, although the Covid-19 cancellations of both the 2020 and 2021 seasons ensured he lost two opportunities to add to that haul.
Covid-19 also played a part in his decision to move to Australia in January 2023, with the various lockdowns giving him the travel itch, which he felt he just needed to scratch.
And while his move to Sydney ultimately led to him getting his break in professional rugby, he admits he never considered it a possibility when he decided to go to Australia.
"I think at the time I was just looking for a bit of a challenge, and like most young people my age these days, looking to travel after Covid.
"We were locked up for a while, and a lot of my friends were coming over to Sydney.
"When I was younger, I missed out on a lot of stuff, when you’re training the summer, missing out on a J1 [visa]. You’re not regretting it, but you don't want to miss out on everything.
"It was 100% a lifestyle [choice]. I had no thoughts [of rugby], I just came over and a couple of clubs got in touch with me and I ended up settling with Randwick.
"I just came over for the lifestyle change, to enjoy myself a bit and rugby was nearly a second thought. When you get playing at a good level then, maybe a bit of a switch flicks in you and you push on a bit more, but I didn't think in a million years I’d get the opportunity I have now.
"It was pretty sweet getting the call to be told I’d been offered a contract in the Queensland Reds. It was just crazy stuff."
The offer from the Reds and Kiss (above) was so unexpected, he spent a week sitting on it. Daly had settled in Sydney where he was working as a project manager for a telecoms company.
Ultimately, the opportunity to play with the likes of Jordan Petaia, Hunter Paisami and Tate McDermott was just too good to turn down. He’s now set to follow in the footsteps of Peter Clohessy, who was the last Irishman to play Super Rugby for the Reds back in 1997.
"I definitely had to think about it. I was settled in Sydney, I had a great relationship with Randwick, so the fact that we won the Shute Shield probably made the decision a bit easier to head up, knowing I’d won it with them.
"We had just settled into Sydney and got this opportunity, and then sat and thought about it for a week or so. I spoke to my dad about it, and it was just too good an opportunity to turn it down.
"I just had to take it with both hands."
Daly made his unofficial debut back in November in an end-of-season friendly against the Japanese side Wild Knights, which allowed him see how he measured up against the seasoned pros.
And although he’s getting used to the professional lifestyle, adapting to the Brisbane weather remains a work in progress.
"I got in, settled down, settled myself with all the lads and we had four weeks off, and I just went hard at the training," he said.
"Pre-season is a bit different to back home! It gets very hot up here, very humid, some days it’s been 40-plus degrees training.
"We played our first challenge game last Saturday against the [Western] Force, and running out it was 35-degree weather. You know it’s bad when the Aussies themselves are saying, ‘Jeez, this is warm’. How do you think I feel?"
He laughs off the suggestion that he may ‘do a Tadhg Beirne’ and get recruited back to Ireland in a couple of years.
It’s been a long journey so far, so he may as well enjoy the ride.
"If you had asked me where I was this time last year, I’d have laughed in your face. I’m focused on getting into the Reds team, and playing some good rugby.
"I won't be looking too far ahead."
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