The International Rules series has been renewed until 2005. Yesterday's announcement that the GAA and the AFL have agreed a further, four-year trial period when the current arrangement expires next year has guaranteed the future of the series in the medium term.

According to the official statement: "The parties expressed great satisfaction at the way the current series has evolved, attracting huge crowds in both Australia in 1999 and in Ireland this year. They confirmed agreement that the series would continue and stated jointly that they were now confident that the Test series would become an annual feature of their respective calendars with Test series being played in the respective countries in alternate years."

The GAA and the AFL will now recommend renewal to their respective governing bodies.

The GAA has confirmed that the capacity of Croke Park for tomorrow is approximately 55,000. Capacity has been reduced since last Sunday because part of the upper deck of the Canal Stand and the Hogan Stand have been handed back to the building contractor, and only a small portion of these areas may be used due to safety regulations. It has been confirmed that 45,000 tickets have already been sold.