NEWS

Daniel in DC- Old Glory Looking For A Big Utah Result

Written by Joe Harvey | Photos by Paris Malone

Heading into Week Nine of the 2024 Major League Rugby season, Old Glory DC’s fate rests solely in their own hands.

Ahead of Friday night’s clash with the Utah Warriors at Zions Bank Stadium, Simon Cross’ side is fourth in the East Conference.

Two points behind third-place NOLA Gold, beneath the Friday night lights and in front of the FS1 cameras, it is a game that could catapult the Maryland-based outfit into the playoff position.

DC is preparing to take on a Warriors team fresh from stunning the San Diego Legion 33-32 in Southern California. They have licked their wounds after a 38-17 defeat to the Houston SaberCats.

With their Western Conference tour carrying on this weekend, before back-to-back in-Conference games, Old Glory stalwart Cory Daniel believes this weekend’s game comes at a pivotal time in the season.

“We have got Utah this weekend, and then we have Miami at home, Chicago away, and then a bye after that,” Daniel said.

“Those two against Chicago and Miami are of huge importance. Even this weekend against Utah, as a team, we can compete with and beat.

“These next three weeks will be hugely important to us and we will get a good judge about where our team stands.”

LOVING LIFE IN DC

This season, Old Glory is in the unusual position of having drawn two games.

DC’s next two games are against RFC Los Angeles and the Chicago Hounds. A victory in either fixture would firmly put DC in the playoff race.

Other results show that Daniel and his teammates have toppled the 2023 champions, the New England Free Jacks, and league newbies Anthem RC while suffering defeats to San Diego and the SaberCats.

While not having a losing record, DC can be considered a team still finding its way under a new head coach and a series of new players bedding in.

“We have been in every game, and we have been close,” Daniel said.

“The big part of it is putting together 80 minutes. You will not have a perfect game of rugby, but from a team standpoint, it is playing your best for 80 minutes.

“We have either started well, had a great first half, and fell off a bit in the second half, and against Houston, it was the opposite where we started off slow and started playing better.

“Our main conversation is putting together a game for 80 minutes, which is easier said than done. But it is looking better.”

Daniel is into his fourth season with Old Glory after joining the team ahead of their 2021 campaign.

A part of the furniture ever since, the 28-year-old Maryland native only began playing rugby in 2019 after wrestling at the University of North Carolina.

In the years since Daniel has gone on to represent the USA Eagles and become one of MLR’s most consistent performers as a back-row forward with a high work rate.

Having missed the team’s push to the Eastern Conference Final last year, where they lost 25-7 to New England, Daniel hopes to reach the playoffs for a second year running.

“It means everything to me,” Daniel said. “Coming from wrestling and football my whole life and then playing rugby after college, they gave me my first cap, and I have been blessed to be here for the past five years.

“At all our home games, I get to play in front of my friends and family, just like every other guy from the area. 

“It is unfortunate last year where I had a season-ending injury with the shoulder surgery, and I wasn’t able to keep playing, go to the playoffs for the first time, and win that big game. Hopefully, this year is another chance.

“I am very glad to be a part of it. Fingers crossed, I stay healthy and continue to have the type of year I am having.”

LOOKING FOR A CATALYST

Such has been the nature of the 2024 MLR season so far; anything is possible.

This can no more be seen than in Utah’s win over San Diego Legion, who, heading into the game, had a vastly superior record on paper.

Something being on paper is one thing, and when the Warriors went to Snapdragon Stadium, Joel Hodgson pulled off a superb performance to narrowly win the clash.

For his 18-point haul, Hodgson was awarded the Player of the Week, and the men from the mountains are well and truly back in the race for the postseason.

Daniel and DC can look to the Warriors in many ways for inspiration.

A win this weekend could be the catalyst for DC’s return to the playoff race. They know exactly what challenge awaits them.

“You have got to look at it objectively,” Daniel said. “Every year, MLR has grown, and the competition has gotten better and better. 

“Even earlier this season, when Utah wasn’t looking as good as it is now, every team can beat any team on their day. I fully believe that. 

“We have to front up. We have been preparing well this week, and we have to take that momentum into the weekend, and hopefully, it will work out for us.“