Sean Taylor is all set to step out with Coolera-Strandhill in Saturday’s All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship Semi-Final at Breffni Park, Cavan against Dublin kingpins Cuala (5.00pm).
The 25-year-old Taylor is a strength and conditioning coach with English Premiership rugby club Harlequins yet thinks nothing of the massive burden of weekly travel he undertakes in order to fulfil his midfield role with the Sligo and Connacht champions.
Having made a significant impact at Harlequins, Taylor is now fired up for the task of striving to bring Coolera-Strandhill into the All-Ireland Senior Club Final.
Yet a cursory glance at the Cuala line-up will confirm that their Sligo opponents have a gigantic task on their hands.
Cuala’s teak tough defender Mick Fitzsimons is the holder of nine All-Ireland medals with the Dubs while inspirational attacking ace Con O’Callaghan has helped himself to half a dozen — and there could be more in the pipeline.
Coolera-Strandhill, though, are not short on match winners with players such as Oran Harte, Aidan Higgins and Ross O’Carroll fired up for what they view as their team’s biggest match for some considerable time.
But they may find Cuala’s experience and flair rather too much on this occasion.
Meanwhile, Donegal and Ulster Junior Football Club champions St Patrick’s Muff will look to book a place in the All-Ireland Final when they square off against Cork and Munster champions Kilmurry in Sunday’s Semi-Final at Parnell Park, Dublin (2.00pm).
St Patrick’s will look to Caolan McColgan, Kevin Lynch, Drew McKinney, Ronan Hoy and Oisin McIntyre to fire up their challenge against a Kilmurry outfit that beat Firies by 1-10 to 0-9 to clinch the Munster title in a riveting tie.
Like their opponents from the north-west of the island, Kilmurry include a corps of scorers in Liam Wall, Lawrence Aisling, Rory Duggan and Denis O’Mullane who have the capacity to make a considerable impact.
But they will require to avail of their scoring chances from the outset if they are to be victorious.