THE impact one man can make to a team, albeit a player who was voted GAA Writers' Footballer of the Year last year, will be demonstrated when Meath's Trevor Giles dons the UCD jersey for the first time this season in their Sigerson Cup match with UCG at Belfield today.
In his absence, UCD have struggled somewhat in the Higher Education Division One League an& are actually involved in a relegation dogfight.
Giles's return is all the more vital to UCD's bid to keep a hand on a trophy they reclaimed last season because of the absence of two other prominent inter-county players. Joe Coyle, of Monaghan is serving a six months suspension for playing illegally in the United States, and Tyrone's Brian Dooher is injured.
UCD have been training four times a week since Christmas in preparation for their defence of the Sigerson, and recently recorded a 10-point win over Eire Og in a challenge game.
Ciaran McManus (Offaly), Derek Savage (Galway) and Barry O'Donovan (Wicklow) are other key players for UCD, but they won't have it all their own way against a UCG team which includes inter-county players John Madden (Mayo), Killian Burns (Kerry) and Roscommon's Don Connellan, who has recovered from injury.
The winners of today's seven matches and, tomorrow's sole game (a promising encounter between Tralee RTC and Queens, also scheduled for Belfield), will claim places in the quarter-finals, which are pencilled in for February 15th, with the finals' weekend in Coleraine on March 8th/9th.
UCC will be banking on a large number of the team that claimed last year's All-Ireland Freshers title to take a step up in class when they undertake the trip to Limerick today for the encounter with University of Limerick. Padraig Griffin, who actually starred for Clonakilty in beating College in last year's Cork championship, Eamon Fitzmaurice and Mickey Donovan are among UCC's key men.
UL will give a late fitness test to Jonathon McCarthy, who sustained a groin strain despite scoring 2-4 in last Saturday's win over Cork RTC, and there is also a doubt over Laune Rangers' Michael Francis Russell, while Dara O Cinneide misses out due to suspension. However, two other Kerry inter-county players - Morgan O'Shea and Rory Rahilly - will definitely figure in the UL side.
There's also a strong Kerry connection with the Garda College who take on St Mary's, Belfast, at Parnell Park. John Crowley and James O Shea lead the Garda attack and should provide enough firepower to clinch a quarter-final place.
Coleraine, who will host the finials, only beat DCU with a last-minute goal when the two clashed in the league earlier in the season - and they face another tough assignment today against the Glasnevin outfit, coached by Gerry Hargan, who include Cork dual star Sean Og O hAilpin and Dublin players Paddy Christie and Ian Robertson in their ranks.
Waterford RTC make their Sigerson Cup debut with a visit to Maynooth and are expected to advance, while today's other matches see Trinity College entertain Sligo RTC at Santry and Athlone RTC play host to UUJ.
Considerable attention will focus on tomorrow's match between Tralee - who have their four Lee Strand scholarship students Mark O'Reilly (Meath), John Casey (Mayo) and Seamus Moynihan and Genie Farrell (Kerry) back-boning the team - and Queens, who also have a fair smattering of inter-county stars in Paul Brewster (Fermanagh) and Diarmuid Marsden (Armagh) in their side.
