Watching the opening moments of the first Test of the International Rules series last Sunday, Peter McDermott wondered if the hybrid sport had circled to its point of origin. The heated, bruising opening exchanges reminded him of the first encounter between the sides in Cork in 1984, when McDermott was Ireland's manager.
"I was shocked," recalls the Meath man, who can clearly recall the undiluted violence which characterised the visitors' play that day. "The thing was nearly doomed before it began. We had played the Australians in two warm-up games, there was absolutely no trouble whatsoever and we coped with them very well, but they were very cute about it. "What occurred was essentially down to their manager, John Todd, who was dynamite, a ruthless figure who was adamant that the Australians weren't going to lose. So, come the first Test, he obviously decided that his players were going to apply an extreme interpretation of the tackle. To be honest, I was absolutely disgusted."
Reaction to that first official rules match fluctuated between public outrage and a secret thrill. The promise of a rumble has always been one of the unspoken attractions about this fast, furious game of elastic rules. The compromise game survived that dark, early hour and the next occasion, at Croke Park, was a stark contrast, a purist's dream that highlighted the game's potential.
"The head of the AFL at that time, a Dr Aylett, described the match as `space age football', and the term stuck for a while," says McDermott.
Appealing though the revived series have been, the future of the rules game still hangs by a fairly thin thread. With the general consensus being that last weekend's game lacked in subtlety and drama, enthusiasts will be praying that the series can redeem itself tomorrow.
Another dull afternoon could hasten a return of the apathy which saw the idea shelved after the 1990 tour. Despite the high-octane promotion in both hemispheres, the long-term future of the sport remains as difficult to forecast now as in the early days. And it is hard to chart a definitive evolvement in the sport. "The roughness and indiscretions have definitely toned down, although a section of the crowd do possibly attend in anticipation of some sort of physical altercation," observes former Ireland manager Kevin Heffernan. "The Australians also seem more comfortable with the round ball now but appear to favour the handpass over the footpass more so than in the earlier series. The tackle remains the big difference and is the one facet in which the rules cater more for the Australians. The mark is one of the great highlights of Australian football and is something which our own game could draw on."
Heffernan managed Ireland for the gripping 1986 tour, which was again marked by a confrontational attitude and again defined by John Todd, who dismissed the Irish as "a bunch of bloody wimps" after the visitors squared the series at 1-1 in Melbourne.
"They are not tough enough to handle a real game," he fumed. "Whether that is ice hockey or marbles, it's all the same. We in Australia don't complain. We don't have cream cakes at 10 o'clock in the morning. We've been brought up in a tough school."
The Dublin legend chuckles at the comments now, which stirred up all manner of dormant nationalism across this country. Heffernan fondly remembers the late Dermot Morgan doing a sketch on a five o'clock radio show, masquerading as the Australian ambassador commenting on the controversy. What began as a reasonable reflection quickly turned into a rant against the wimpishness of Irish players, provoking a rush of calls from across the country.
"There were a lot of strong characters on that tour, from both countries, and it captured the public imagination," Heffernan says. Ireland won that series, taking the final game 55-32 in front of 10,000 people, and it was felt that the sport was worth pursuing; that it did, in full flow, contain a unique if only vaguely identifiable appeal.
Four years later, however, the Irish team toured Australia for a series that wasn't broadcast live in Ireland. The visitors won comfortably, but the lack of coverage rendered the Irish public largely oblivious to the event. Quietly and with little protest, the idea was shelved.
"I thought it was a beautiful game to play," says Eoin "Bomber" Liston, a constant feature on the Irish teams of the 1980s.
"Very fast, a skilful spectacle, forced players to think on their feet. Gaelic was a much slower game then and funnily it wasn't necessarily the big home stars that thrived at the international game. But it was a tremendous thing and the opportunity to tour Australia is a marvellous reward.
"I was delighted when they revived it and I felt that, up until Sunday, the recent games were terrific. But last weekend was a return to the old violence and I have to say that it left a sour taste. It's only a matter of time before someone breaks a jaw or worse. Why should amateurs put up with that?"
Liston admits that "a small number" of punters will follow the series in the hope of witnessing an unholy skirmish. Bust-ups have long been part of the culture of both indigenous games and, to some extent, that ethos has seeped into the international game. But so, too, have the more skilful aspects of the sport.
But will it ever take flight as a sport in its own right? Neither country is fond of the "compromise" tag that undermines the claims made for the authenticity of the sport. But it remains, at heart, a showcase for two domestic sports rich in pride and history. Australian enthusiasm has soared since the latest revival and a rousing show tomorrow would guarantee an extension to that feel-good factor.
The problem is, of course, that the sport will be put to bed until next autumn, by which time tomorrow's exploits will be a dim memory. That will remain a perennial problem.
As Peter McDermott sees it though, its survival has been achieved even if it falls dormant again in the future. "I feel that it is inevitable that some young men will look back at these series and see that the exercise is worthwhile and they will start it up again. The links are well established now."
Previous Series
1984 - Australia win 2-1.
1986 - Ireland win 2-1.
1987 - Australia win 2-1.
1990 - Ireland win 2-1.
1998 - Ireland lose first Test, win second Test and series on aggregate.
1999 - Ireland win first Test, draw second and take series on aggregate.
