 Brendan Daly Scores Try - Photo By Austin Brewin This Is American Rugby (http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com) is an on-line publication dedicated to covering the U.S.A. Eagles at home and abroad. Their goal is to bring to you updates from Eagles playing overseas, the 7's team, all national team matches as well as the top domestic club and college teams. The editors write: “We are striving to be unique in the American rugby news market by providing video highlights involving Eagles, player profiles and interviews, news links, and opinion related to the Eagles.” The TIAR Network is a group of web sites focusing on rugby throughout the country, and as part of that to award outstanding teams and individuals. BRENDAN, who has captained the SFGG's men's side for the last 2 years, plays lock and #8. He was playing football, then discovered rugby as a sport for the Spring in his senior year at High School playing for SFGG HS. Rugby moved to the top of his sports interest, then the Cal opportunity sealed it. BRENDAN went on to star at Cal and became an All American. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cal Athletics (http://www.calbears.com/news/2016/12/31/rugby-daly-named-club-player-of-the-year.aspx) wrote: BERKELEY – Former Cal All-American and current San Francisco Golden Gate captain Brendan Daly has been named the 2016 Club Player of the Year in a fan poll hosted by This Is American Rugby. A 6-5, 245-pound lock for the Bears who arrived in Berkeley from across the Bay at St. Ignatius High School and graduated as a Scholar Athlete from the Haas School of Business in 2013, Daly led the senior SFGG side to the final of the 2016 Pacific Rugby Premiership and has been instrumental in Golden Gate's campaign for the California Cup this winter. "When you want a leader that leads by example then Daly is your guy," wrote TIAR in its announcement of Daly's award. "He is one of the better players in the country but it's his work rate that pushed SFGG to another PRP final." A native San Franciscan, Daly has remained in his hometown following his collegiate career, having worked in the off-season for his father, the recently deceased Daniel Daly, before embarking on his professional life at Visa and, most recently, the cloud service distribution provider AppDirect. "It's truly an honor to have been selected by the fans as the player of the year," said Daly. "I couldn't have done it without my coaches and teammates throughout my career. This is especially true of the foundation given to me at Cal that has helped me succeed on and off the field." "Brendan is an excellent player in his own right," said Cal head coach Jack Clark, "but on our campus he will always be known as a team-man first and foremost." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Austin Brewin adds: Brendan returned to SFGG after graduating Cal in 2013 and has been a stalwart in the SFGG side since. In this, his second year as Captain, BRENDAN has settled into the role as Game Manager on the field, and has earned the respect of the coaches and his team mates with his intense leadership and on-field decisions. In 2016, after leading SFGG to the PRP final and completing his club obligations. BRENDAN went on to join the San Francisco Rush PRO Rugby team for the remainder of their season and was selected to AMERICAS RUGBY NEWS (http://www.americasrugbynews.com/about-us/) PRO Rugby 2016 Dream Team as a result of his impactful play. Coach NEIL FOOTE spotted the leadership qualities in BRENDAN when he first arrived, and feels that over the last year he has grown into that role very nicely. He leads by example, and personifies a never say die attitude on the field with an incredible workrate that guarantees he is never far from the ball - if he's not scoring, he is one of the first to congratulate a scorer with unconditional enthusiasm. His tenacity and will have been a big driver of SFGG's success over the last few years. BRENDAN’s most ardent fans and familiar faces on the sidelines of all his games – from SI, through Witter Field, Sheeran Field and Boxer Stadium – have been his mother, MARGARET, and dad DAN. DAN died in late November a year after discovering he had cancer. His death leaves a hole in the Daly family and in our SFGG community. BRENDAN is looking forward to getting back into the fray. He says this all too short season is winnable. While the team lost JACK HALILO to injury, the team is solid and talented, now just need to go out and do it.  Brendan Daly rampaging for SF Rush - Photo by Austin Brewin
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