Ian O'Riordantalks to Longford's exciting young forward Brian Kavanagh, who is enjoying his first All Star tour

The sight of Séamus Moynihan and Peter Canavan playing beach volleyball along the truly beautiful Dubai coastline would probably be lost on all locals here, but it's one of many novel aspects of the Vodafone All Star tour. So too is the presence of Brian Kavanagh, who at just 20 is the first Longford player to make the now annual tour.

Kavanagh's rise from underage talent to one of the best forwards in the country has been so swift he actually had to introduce himself to several of his All Star team-mates and also to the travelling media. Yet he's clearly revelling in being in such fine football company, fuelling his inspiration for even greater things in 2007. Although he was a late call-up to the tour - replacing Kerry's Colm Cooper, who has club duties with Dr Crokes - Kavanagh's presence is well justified. A series of impressive displays for Longford over the summer earned him an All Star nomination in the forward line, and several people are already predicting he will win an award outright before his career is done.

"I actually just found out last Friday evening that I was coming out here," he says. "I was heading down to Longford to training on a typically cold and wintry night. So I was delighted to get the call. And it is nice to get a few days off, especially in the sun. But it will be straight back to reality next week, and our first league match, against London on Saturday."

He will find himself lining out with some of the great forwards of the modern game in tomorrow's exhibition match, including Dublin's Alan Brogan, who saw for himself Kavanagh's ability when Longford pushed Dublin so hard in the Leinster championship last year. And he admits he plans on picking up a few tips while he's here.

"It's great to be here with so many quality players. Of course you get their opinions on things and learn about their preparations for matches and things like that. It's still only my second year as a senior player, and I'm certainly hoping to get a few tips out here. Late at night, even. Though I do feel like the new kid on the block, so I have to show some manners as well.

"And I've found there really is a great mutual respect among the players. People say there's great rivalry on the field, but that is kept to the field, and everyone is getting on well here."

That reality check begins as soon as he gets back, however - starting with his final year of a teaching degree at St Patrick's College, Dublin, and then what he says is a crucial year for Longford.

"That 2006 season came out of nowhere, I suppose," he says. "Our performance against Dublin, only losing by two points, just set the trend, and we got great motivation from that and great belief. But then our under-21s had a good run as well, so I suppose you could see it coming for the last four or five years. Longford got to two under-21 finals and two semi-finals, so there were players coming up through the system, and it was only a matter of time before they started to step up to the senior stage.

"But I also think Luke Dempsey is a great manager, a great man manager. In small counties like Longford you just can't afford to fall out with any of the players, and he keeps everyone on board and builds great self-belief."

Like many, Kavanagh also believes a strong league campaign is an essential building block for a strong show in the championship: "Promotion is hugely important for us, because 2006 was a relatively successful year for Longford football. And of course we would like to build on it for 2007. And that means looking for a top-four spot in order to make the qualifiers next summer, and promotion would be a nice bonus on top of that. So I think the league has a lot of added significance this year.

"Pauric Davis is also back on board and he's been a great servant to Longford over the last 10 years. But he's still in good form. He scored nine points in our O'Byrne Cup match against DIT, and he's great towards the younger players, advising them and that. A lot of us, myself included, learn a lot from him. Especially his positional sense. He also had a quick word with me about who should take the frees, and he decided to let me have them."