On January 2nd, 2012 Conor Hourihane and Eunan O'Kane lined up against each for Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United at Home Park in the 48th Devon derby between the two sides.
Fast forward to 2017, the duo are part of Martin O'Neill's Republic of Ireland squad ahead of their two-legged World Cup 2018 Play-off campaign against Denmark.
If the Republic are able to see off the challenge of the Danes - appearing in next summer's finals in Russia would represent a remarkable career highlight for two players who successfully revived their playing careers in Devon.
The Gulls won 2-1 that day to complete their first league double over the Pilgrims in 40 years, and O'Kane was instrumental in helping them to achieve this feat after netting a stunning brace in the first meeting at Plainmoor in the previous November.
O'Kane would eventually move to AFC Bournemouth for £175,000 on the eve of the 2012-13 season, where he helped the Cherries to eventually win promotion to the Premier League under Eddie Howe in the 2014-15 campaign before moving to his present club Leeds United in August 2016.
It is a career path that represented a remarkable turnaround for a player who returned to Coleraine in his native Ulster after being released by Everton as a youngster.
Hourihane, meanwhile, had joined Argyle in the summer of 2011 whilst the Pilgrims were still in Administration. His career had previously taken him to Sunderland and Ipswich Town, where he was signed on both occasions by current Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane.
However, after a slow start Peter Reid, the manager who signed him, was dismissed after Argyle picked up only one point from their opening ten league fixtures. His successor Carl Fletcher was appointed as player-manager and led the Pilgrims to safety with Hourihane a regular in the centre of the Pilgrims midfield.
Over time Hourihane added more consistency to his game and was handed the captain's armband by Fletcher's successor John Sheridan - a Republic of Ireland international himself - before earning a £200,000 move to Barnsley in the summer of 2014.
During his time with the Tykes, Hourihane was a Wembley victor twice during the 2015-16 season as he helped Barnsley win the Football League Trophy 3-2 against Oxford United. He later returned to Wembley at the end of the campaign in the League One Play-off final, in which the Tykes beat Millwall 3-1 to clinch a return to the Championship.
After helping Barnsley to re-establish themselves in the second tier of English football, he then earned himself a big money move to the recently relegated Aston Villa in the January 2017 transfer window.
Securing a successful passage to Russia would be a fantastic achievement for two players whose clubs sides, Leeds United and Aston Villa, could yet have a big say in the Skybet Championship promotion race.
Also featuring in O'Neill's squad for the two-legged affair is Millwall striker Aiden O'Brien who had a brief loan spell at Plainmoor during the 2013-14 season.
Two other players with Torquay United connections are also involved in World Cup Play-off action. Jamie Ward is set to feature for Northern Ireland against Switzerland and Rory Fallon, who was released from a short term deal with the Gulls earlier this season, is included in the New Zealand squad to face Peru.
