By Michael Scully

Copyright irishmirror

Shane Daly’s 30 weeks in the rugby wilderness ended with a winning comeback for Munster last weekend . Daly had it all to play for last season when disaster struck in the shape of a serious hamstring injury while playing for Ireland A against England in Bristol in February. It prematurely ended a campaign that could have ended with a third Ireland cap – and first in four years – on the summer tour . The talented back three player almost made it back in time for that tour but instead he got in a full pre-season. “Very disappointing, but at the same time it meant when I got back I was into the first week of pre-season and was able to build myself up slowly,” said the 28-year-old. “By the time the season started I felt as good as anybody else. “I’ve been very lucky in my career so far that I haven’t had too many massive injuries like that, so it was a big shock. It was something I hadn’t really experienced before, so I pretty much knew instantly that this wasn’t normal and it was going to require some extra time out. “It’s not until you get the scan that you know the full extent of it but I was fairly sure at that point that I wouldn’t be playing for a considerable amount of time. “Unfortunately I had to go get the surgery and luckily everything has gone well from that side. It’s feeling as good as it ever has, so I can’t complain. It’s the nature of the game, these things are going to happen. I’ve been pretty lucky to get this point unscathed.” During his time off the pitch he worked with charities but also had input into the team, helping out with analysis of Munster’s opponents as well as helping more inexperienced players with their match prep. Such was his conditioning that Daly was able to last the full 80 in the 34-21 victory in the URC at the Scarlets last Saturday. “Ah look it was great, it was a long time coming,” he said. “Just to get out there and play a competitive game, get 80 minutes under the belt, it was huge for me. I felt really good out there also, so it was a great start for me.” And it’s something the Corkman puts down to the hardest pre-season he’s ever had. “It was unbelievably tough,” said Daly. “Brad (Mayo) coming over from New Zealand had a few ideas and had us doing things like boxing and swimming and hill running – things that are completely different stimuli. “You might think you’re as fit as could be but when you’re put into a pool, that’s a completely different environment. So, we were being challenged mentally as much as physically, and hopefully that will show throughout the season.”