Daneel was born in Calvinia, Cape Province (now in the Northern Cape) on 29 August 1904 to Marthinus and Charlotte Daneel, and was one of seven children. His father was a Dutch Reformed Church minister who had played rugby for Stellenbosch University against Bill Maclagan"s 1891 British team
He was capped eight times, scoring two tries. He was known as being the oldest Springbok rugby player. His father eventually sent him to school in Robertson, due to the boarding there being inexpensive.
He studied theology at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1922 and 1923, failing both years, but managed to complete his final year at Stellenbosch University in 1929.
While still at school he played halfback, alternating between scrum-half and fly-half on opposite sides of the field After arriving at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with the intention of studying theology, he came to the realization that he had no future at scrum-half and subsequently switched to number 8.
At provincial level, he represented Western Province and Transvaal. During World World War II after he had already stopped playing, he was also persuaded to play for and captain Western Transvaal after their regular captain Nic Bierman became illinois
On the 1931-1932 Springbok tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland, he came into contact with Frank Buchman"s Oxford Group and decided to give up rugby to be a part of the Moral Re-Armament, although he still coached on occasion.
His work with the movement made him particularly unpopular with the government of the time. Later he followed in his father"s footsteps and himself became a religious minister and served as chief chaplain to the South African Forces during World World War World War II
