**After 19 tries in 36 games for Leinster, Barry Daly has called time on his rugby career in order to pursue a business degree in America.** The 27-year-old winger has suffered two injury-hit campaigns, with serious knee injuries limiting his availability and he’s decided to look after his body and pursue a scholarship at Boston College. Daly was something of a late bloomer at Leinster. Despite showing plenty of promise as a youngster, he was not offered a place at the club’s academy and fell back to playing for UCD in the All-Ireland league. UCD head coach Noel McNamara worked with Daly and he made giant strides, forcing Leinster to take another look and eventually offer him a contract. He was the club’s top try-scorer in the double-winning 2017-18 season, while he was also called up to the Ireland squad – although he did not make a senior appearance. “It was a combination of things, the knee, two years of injuries, I got the opportunity to study abroad. I’ve got a scholarship to study in Boston for two years, I’m doing an MBA there," [he said.](https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/barry-daly-calls-time-rugby-career/) “I didn’t really know for sure until towards the end of my injury rehab. I was coming back, looking to play and the whole pandemic was just kicking off then. “Thankfully, Ella McCabe (Rugby Players Ireland) had been on my case hard the last couple of years with all the injury time to prepare for after rugby and she put me on to this scholarship. “I actually got that fairly shortly after the whole lockdown kicked off so that was pretty much the decision made for me. I wasn’t able to play for Leinster anymore and I’d gotten this incredible opportunity to go and study at Boston College.”
