MUNSTER tried to sign Daniel Brennan last year when Rassie Erasmus was in charge. But the young tighthead, son of former Ireland and Leinster star Trevor, decided to remain in France to better himself as a player. On Sunday, he will bid to become the first Irishman to win a World Rugby Under-20 Championship medal but he will do so in a French jersey having moved to Toulouse when he was just 3½ years old. Their whole family left Ireland when was signed by Toulouse in 2002, going on to help them win the Heineken Cup twice. Daniel, 19, has grown up there then with 16-year-old brother Josh, who is on the French Under-17s side, and 11-year-old Bobby, who was born in Toulouse. He said: “I didn’t go to an English school. They stuck me in the French school and I didn’t know what they were talking about at the start. “I ended up learning the French language. It’s much easier when you are a kid to pick up a language. It was more difficult for my parents, Trevor and Paula. "They speak fluent French now but they have these accents. “When I speak French you wouldn’t know I was born in Ireland. It just came quite naturally. “But people slag me for my Dublin accent, not least because I am supposed to be a Lilywhite! “The whole family, my mum and dad, are all from Leixlip but I have a Dublin accent when I speak English.” Only England stand in France’s way after Les Bleus beat New Zealand in the semi-finals. He holds an Irish passport and makes regular trips home and a year ago gave serious consideration to making a permanent move back when Munster called. Brennan — who will switch to Montpellier from Toulouse in the coming weeks after signing a three-year deal — revealed: “I had a chat with Rassie Erasmus last year. “I just said it’s not my time to leave France yet. I had the Under-20s this year. I had that noted on my notebook, I wanted to make the Under-20s. “I played with them in Georgia last summer but it wasn’t my year and I wanted to be here when France hosted it. “There was a little chat at the start of the year, Johann van Graan. “But I signed pretty early with Montpellier, in January. I just wanted to get it over and done with. I had the Six Nations coming up. “I think I can still play for Ireland. I have always played rugby in France. I am born in Ireland. “I am obviously really proud to be Irish. I love my Irish origins. I love where I come from. I love going home meeting everybody. But I also love being French. “French rugby has been so good to me. They have always been good to me. “Toulouse has been good to me. For school everyone has been good to me. It’s a way to give back, sticking on the French jersey, all the opportunities they have given me.” Brennan — who is 6ft 3in and weighs just over 130kg — made his senior debut for Toulouse towards the end of last season when he was drafted in for an away match to Clermont Auvergne. But he cannot wait to get going under Vern Cotter in Montpellier, where he hopes to learn a lot from Springbok tighthead Jannie De Plessis. He said: “I just said where will I learn the most? “It’s like a painter, you have to get your job experience. I had a lot to learn off guys like Vern Cotter. Jannie du Plessis is on his last year. “He is one of the best tighthead props in the world. I will get a good bit of experience back there.” The Brennan family settled in the village of Castelginest just north of Toulouse and after the 2007 World Cup in France, Daniel and his mates started playing with the neighbouring village Aucamville. He added: “We used to play soccer, ice hockey and judo, whatever was going, and some of the lads said let’s try rugby. It just took off from there.” Dad Trevor — who has sold his renowned pub De Danu in the city and who has opened Brennan’s Bar in Castelginest — has never interfered or being pushy. “But now I find when I’m doing well that’s when he is annoying he’s come to all the matches and he’s delighted things are going well.” https://www.leinsterleader.ie/section/1240/advertise-with-us All the latest breaking local news from Kildare and Leinster County Keep up to date with the latest sports news Read the latest crime and court news from Kildare and the surrounding areas Read all the latest Irish news and updates from around Ireland Find whats happening in and around Kildare and Leinster Enjoy our award winning photos and picture galleries taken in Kildare and Leinster Read about the latest properties available in Kildare and Leinster Enjoy our latest and up to date motoring review and news in Kildare and Leinster Kildare and Leinster Met Eireann Weather Forecast Recent death notices and obituaries from Kildare and Leinster Latest environmental and climate change news in County Kildare Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter Support our mission and join our community now you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism A KILDARE born rugby star could be lining out against birthplace country of his parents and grandparents this Friday It remains to be seen if Daniel Brennan (18) will line out for the French U.20 side when it takes on Ireland at Donnybrook this Friday evening Daniel went to France when he was two years old Daniel’s time has been coming for some time he progressed through the youth ranks at the club where his dad won two Heineken Cups as a player He was called into the French U17 squad in March 2015 A 125 kg 6ft 3in tight head prop - Trevor is 6ft 5ins - playing at No 3 and 5 Daniel was named on the French U.20 squad just before Christmas they did not know if he will be playing this Friday Some MU Barnhall club sources believe  that due to his relative youth Daniel would not be on the field for the first two games of the current international season but could be for the third or others Rory said he was due to join the French squad in Paris today Monday (February 20)  and he would be assessed on Wednesday (February 22) with a view to Friday’s match said Errol) said Daniel turned 18 on September 23 He will have another year with the French U.20 squad He captained the French U18 squad in South Africa and played with the U17 French side Daniel has signed a two year professional deal with Toulouse The record of this rugby mad family is notable Obvious questions have arisen about either of the lads opting to play for Ireland One suggestion  is that Daniel will stay with France but that Josh may think of Ireland Rory said: “Josh said he would think of playing for Ireland but that could change Trevor has not put any pressure on the lads.” Donnybrook is likely to benefit from an extended MU Barnhall contingent " + $(".testo_articolo").html().replace(//g please subscribe and support local journalism Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles To continue reading this article for FREE,please kindly register and/or log in Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news Outside Naas courthouse are: Susanna Cawley Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.