With barely a minute left to play, and Munster 24-7 ahead against the Scarlets last Saturday, Shane Daly was by some distance the most nervous man in Thomond Park.
The province's URC win had been in the bag since midway through the second half, but the Munster wing had a sinking feeling as referee Federico Vedovelli studied the big screen, after Daly had made a high tackle on Joe Thomas.
Having spent two-and-a-half years trying to catch the eye of the Irish management team, he had been told in advance of last week’s game that he would be part of Mike Prendergast’s Ireland A squad for this afternoon’s meeting with England A in Bristol. Suddenly, that involvement was hinging on what colour card Vedovelli would pull from his pocket.
In the end, he was relieved to see yellow, before an extra stay in purgatory to find out if any further action would be taken.
"I didn't sleep Saturday night, I was waiting to hear the result of the citing on that," he says, relief still etched on his face.
"So look, that was one I got wrong unfortunately, it was probably a bit lazy towards the end of the game, probably thinking about getting into the dressing room afterwards.
"I just need to stay switched on at the end and make sure it doesn't happen again.
"Definitely, that was a bit of a disaster to be honest."
That brief scare is one of many reasons the 28-year-old is so keen to grasp his opportunity to impress this week.
A two-cap Ireland international, Daly last made a Test appearance in the summer of 2021 against Japan, but he stayed on the radar of Andy Farrell for another 18 months – touring South Africa with Emerging Ireland in September 2022, before featuring for Ireland A against a New Zealand selection that November.
The Cork man wasn’t actually a nailed-down starter for Munster in that period when he won Test caps and was involved with the wider Ireland squad; he and Calvin Nash weren’t locked into the 11 and 14 jerseys at the province until the latter half of the 2022/23 season.
And the irony isn’t lost Daly that his international recognition came long before he started playing his best rugby.
"Look, I've been dying to get back here for a few years. I feel like since I started playing my best rugby I haven't been in this building, so I'm really excited to show what I can do to the coaches and just even to get out on the pitch today."
Daly wasn’t the only Ireland A player to reference being "in the building" this week, and he’s one of six capped players in the matchday 23 for this afternoon’s game at Ashton Gate.
And while he admits there have been times when he doubted if he would get the chance to get his feet in the door of the Irish rugby high performance facility, all he wanted was one more opportunity to impress.
"I think that's something that I've just wanted for the last few years, just to really show what I can do, you know?
"I've obviously struggled at times to get back into this building, so it's been tough at times, but look, they [Ireland] are doing well, so I can't really complain. They're flying it and going brilliantly, so I can't really say anything on that side, but just delighted to be here and really show what I can do.
"You always think - when the squad is named – for a few hours or days, 'Have I gone past it?' or whatever, but then you get back playing for your province and realise where you're at and I've had the opportunity to play some really good rugby with Munster, the way that we want to play and the way we have played at times, it's been up and down at times but I think I've always been consistent over that period.
"All I can do is put my best foot forward every time I get a chance at Munster and then hopefully that leads into the green jersey then."
More often starting on the left wing for Munster, Daly is named at full-back for this afternoon’s A game, a position he has covered several times for his province in the last season and a half.
His only outing in the 15 jersey this season was the day he arguably scored the best try of his career, an incredible double-chip and chase (below) against Stade Francais in the Champions Cup, which marked his 100th appearance for Munster.
A quite brilliant (double) chip and chase from Shane Daly has Munster firmly in control at Thomond Park. Once again, Crowley obliges with the extras.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 7, 2024
30min: Munster 14-0 Stade Francais
📺Watch Munster v Stade Francais LIVE on RTÉ2 pic.twitter.com/06taflwIeH
Given his footballing skills, it’s no surprise to hear that soccer was actually his "main sport" growing up (Roy Keane was his "idol", unsurprisingly), before he eventually found his way to rugby at Highfield RFC and Presentation Brothers College.
"I loved soccer. Even now when I watch the Premier League I'm kind of half thinking I should be there, but there was absolutely no chance," he laughs.
And he believes that multi-sport background has served him well through his professional career.
"I think it's massive. I think my advice to any young fella would be to play as many sports as possible. It's something that's stood to me in a lot of areas.
"Defensively, I used to play as a defender in soccer and it's a different sport, but it's the same thing. You're reading body language, you're trying to see where they're going next, you're trying to get ahead of the game.
"Sports all transfer in a way that you don't even realise when you're learning as a kid, but when you start to apply them as you're older, you realise that you've actually worked on that your whole life and that's why it's working on the field for you."
