After a health start in life, the hybrid species is on life support and in need of intensive nurturing, writes Seán Moran(who begins his coverage of the series from Australia in Monday's Irish Times
ITS BIRTH, like most others, was attended by a certain optimism. Twenty-four years ago next Tuesday the first International Rules Test between Ireland and Australia took place in Cork's Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
It contained scenes that have come to characterise and haunt the game in public perception: indiscipline, erupting into a free-for-all in the third quarter and two Irish players carted off with concussion.
And that was with Frank Murphy refereeing.
Nonetheless, equilibrium had been restored by the end of the three-Test series and despite some brawling and what the Australians euphemistically term "a bench clearance", the mood was upbeat and over 30,000 had attended the deciding Test in Croke Park on November 4th.
Dr Allen Aylett, president of the National Football League of Australia, then the controlling body for Australian rules football, was particularly enthusiastic: "In this game we have a space-age spectacular and, if we continue to work on it, a game twice as fast as any other game of football in the world."
Next Friday sees the resumption of the international project after last year's suspension in the wake of the re-emergence of disciplinary problems and a sharpening chill in relations between the organisations, both of which have been addressed in the two years since 2006.
It didn't take the series long to run out of credit. Ten years ago it was revived on a far more stable basis and with the full engagement of both parent associations. For the most part it was a huge success with big attendances and a steadily evolving game that if by times too stop-start in its flow frequently erupted into turbo bursts of football faster than either of its constituent codes.
The old days of bar-room brawling were a distant memory, even if there was the odd flashback, but overall the project maintained its high-frequency annual staging comfortably enough.
There was a striking inner balance in the competition (even now over a period of 24 years and 13 series the tally stands at seven to Australia and six to Ireland with - remarkably - the countries level on Tests at 14 each with two drawn). There were, however, two things that the series could not tolerate: regular recurrence of indiscipline and violence and one team becoming too good for the other.
On both fronts 2004 was a starting point. Although it was Ireland that ran away with the series four years ago, winning by 50 points on aggregate, the Australians were so poor and uninterested in the Tests that something had to be done.
Before the second Test in Croke Park the visitors took matters into their own hands and attacked Ireland players before the throw-in, targeting Seán Ó hAilpín and Ciarán McDonald, two of Ireland's best players from the previous week.
That created a precedent for wilful misbehaviour and, critically, nothing was done about it.
The GAA, which has traditionally been quicker to raise issues of disciplinary concern, chose to ignore the violence, presumably because the series had been won so easily.
Since then the last two series have been neither disciplined nor well contested and the scenes in Croke Park during the November Test in 2006 led to the suspension of the series and very nearly its abandonment.
After 2004 the AFL had reviewed its selection criteria and appointed a hard-edged club coach, Kevin Sheedy from Essendon. He worked out how to optimise the Australian game plan, which was spectacularly successful, and also how to unsettle Ireland.
Colm O'Rourke is the most successful Irish coach with two series victories, in 1998 and 1999, and as a player was top Irish scorer in the inaugural 1984 series. He saw the 2005 revolution coming.
"It didn't surprise me because there was pressure on them to win. They had been coming out on the wrong side of it and it was inevitable that someone like Sheedy would put in place a plan of action and not worry too much about the cosmetics.
"The violence came a bit out of the blue - the series up to then had been largely sporting. Hopefully, the change in rules will help sort that out. I blame the Australian attitude and poor officiating.
"I know it wasn't all one-way traffic and that Ireland have to take some blame, but I think at a certain stage the Australians decided that if a game was tight they should step up the aggression because the Irish wouldn't be able to stand up to the physical pressure, which we weren't."
One of the great breakthroughs in trying to curb misbehaviour was the agreement of the AFL to make international suspensions stick within the premiership, a concession that had been unthinkable.
Garry Lyon is a former Australia player and the most experienced coach in the history of the internationals, having taken charge of the AFL team for four years, 2001 to 2004. He says the move on suspensions was necessary. "That had to be done. Otherwise guys were able to look on the internationals as a one-off experience where they had nothing to lose. Now players have to be more responsible or their clubs will suffer. Mick Malthouse (Collingwood and new Australian coach) is a strong disciplinarian. I'm very confident from this point of view."
Lyon attributes part of great AFL improvement of recent years to altered selection policy: "These years have coincided with a change in the selection rules. Previously it was incumbent on us to pick the All-Australian players so it was possible to pick players who would be particularly suited to international rules.
"Speed is important and that game didn't suit our big, tall guys so we had to take some guys - maybe three or four - who by their own admission weren't great at it.
"Our central positions feature big fellas taking overhead marks, which are pretty rare in International Rules. Instead in the past couple of series we have guys who run hard and then rotate.
"Understanding what worked was the greatest challenge. Some of our players who were very skilful with our ball found themselves in a position with the round ball where they kick it into the stand. We need to understand what we're capable of and then practise to improve.
"We used to have good players who couldn't convert chances but that's changed and now defenders can find themselves playing up front if they can convert chances.
"You're also seeing players with international experience from the academy coming through and that gives them a nice head-start."
The underage international series has been shelved because of the recruitment fears of the GAA in the light of the increasing movement of underage talent to AFL clubs and the more aggressive scouting activity conducted on their behalf, but there are still a number in the system who can apply their experience at international level.
The Irishman with the longest record of involvement in the series is Kerry's John O'Keeffe, a selector with O'Rourke and his successor, Brian McEniff, and then manager in his own right. He believes the GAA have been lax in their attitude to the game at the very time the AFL have stepped up their efforts to master it.
"It's been obvious in the past few years that the Australians have figured out how to play it whereas we're not putting enough into it technically to enable us play to our strengths. We should be better and more accurate with the round ball and better able to conjure up goals.
"The biggest factor in making this competitive is the need for us to play at high intensity and avoid the physical aspect - in other words don't take the ball into contact because we can't compete at that with their upper-body strength in the tackle. It's part of their game and they have the required professional training.
"Irish players must be smart and move the ball, not get caught in possession. Gaelic players are inclined to try and drive past their markers, which won't happen.
"We also need to play heads-up, using a bit of vision and quick decision making. There will of course be times in defence when an Irish player has to tackle but often the most effective defence is to get bodies back and put pressure on the kicker.
"If you do that he won't kick it accurately. Full-on tackling can be a waste of energy because it can be very difficult to hold an Australian up in the tackle but defenders can shadow their man and not put themselves out of the game. It's a matter of common sense, maximising the areas where we're strong."
Technically, Ireland should be doing better, as the two games have converged over the years of the resumed international series. This has manifested itself in shorter acclimatisation periods for Irish players signing for AFL clubs. Interestingly, it was Mick Malthouse who a year ago referred to the "increasing Gaelicisation of the AFL".
But maybe that's not helping the GAA teams. No longer strangers to mobility and the quick use of ball, Australians have thrived in the international game.
Lyon, however, believes that it's too early to call time on the internationals.
"I've enormous respect for the Irish and the way they play. They just need to bear in mind to play to their strengths, which is their use of the ball. Put it this way: I wouldn't mind coaching an Irish team against Australia. I think they have the capability at the very least to make this competitive and probably even win a series."
O'Rourke now believes that the institutional relationship is more important than the actual series, a view that has changed since he was involved at the sharp end 10 years ago.
"I was geared towards the game and we were intent on being competitive. As the series evolved and with the benefit of a decade's hindsight I can see that being competitive isn't the only thing that matters. I think it's valuable as a cultural exchange and to encourage a flow of ideas between the games.
"Teams travel to a different country and have no sensitivity to the people, culture and sport of their hosts. I think it has to be a broader concept: more mixing of players socially and more sharing of ideas. You can say 'it's got to be competitive' but in a month's time the result is over and done with but the relationship is still important.
"I think there are great opportunities for the AFL to share training programmes and vice versa. Many coaches would be happy to get involved in that sort of exchange and county boards could do a lot worse than organise exchanges, so that could lead to a sharing of ideas."
That may be an unusually positive view of the relationship between two of the world's great indigenous sports but it's an interesting long-term perspective.
More immediately the offspring of this relationship after a robust adolescence and early adulthood is on life support.
The next two weeks will tell whether it lives to see its 25th birthday in a year's time.
History of Rules
1984
First official series takes place as part of GAA Centenary Year celebrations, placing on an official basis links that had been forged by Meath and Kerry touring Down Under and Australia selections coming to Ireland. Uncertainty over the tackle leads to serious confrontations in the first Test in Cork as well as all-in brawling during the third Test in Croke Park. Over 30,000 attend the final Test, won by Australia.
1986
Violence again erupts on Ireland's first visit under the management of Kevin Heffernan. His Australian counterpart, John Todd, accuses the Irish players of having arrived in Australia with "rough stuff" in mind. GAA president Mick Loftus says of the violent scenes: "If they are repeated I would have no hesitation in recommending we abandon the series." Ireland win the series 2-1.
1987
With Eugene McGee in charge, an Ireland side that includes Pat Spillane (right, with Australia's Scott Salisbury) continues the losing trend of home sides, but there is an improvement in discipline and crowds are up.
1990
Ireland win the series in Australia 2-1 under Eugene McGee, but with indiscipline largely under control, apathy becomes the new problem, small crowds turning out in Melbourne, Canberra and Perth. The series is put on ice for eight years.
1998
The GAA and AFL decide to resume touring, this time on annually. Modest crowds see Ireland win the two-Test series on aggregate score.
Right, the Ireland goalkeeper Finbarr McConnell plays at Croke Park with his jersey in tatters. The Australian coach Leigh Matthews quips that the internationals resemble Vietnam: "It mattered more over there than at home."
1999
With Australian reaction critical to the future of the series, big crowds turn out in Melbourne and Adelaide to see Ireland retain the series. Meath's Graham Geraghty is suspended for racial abuse of an academy player during a practice match.
2000
First win for Australia since the resumption. Coach Dermott Brereton forecasts that Ireland will struggle to keep up: ". . . once every two years or three years, now that the Australians have learned how to play this, they'll probably roll them."
2001
Record five-Test suspension handed to Paddy Clarke, one of Brian McEniff's selectors, after a confrontation with the AFL umpire Brett Allen at the end of the first Test. Ireland win but crowds are down.
2002
Record attendance for international as 71,552 attend second Test in Croke Park to see Australia win narrowly.
2004
Ireland win by record aggregate margin (132-82) and an all-out assault on Irish players before the second Test throw-in goes unpunished.
2005
Australia unveil new team and manager and break all records. In the Perth Test they become the first team to put up 100 points and win by an aggregate 57 (163-106). Co-captain Chris Johnson is suspended for five Tests after a high tackle on Philip Jordan and an assault on Matty Forde.
2006
After first Test passes without incident in Galway the second is disrupted by frequent acts of violence and brawling - including, right, Danyle Pearse's tackle on Geraghty at Croke Park. A month later Central Council calls off the scheduled 2007 series.
2008
International Rules
Australia
v Ireland
First Test
Friday, Oct 24th
Subiaco Oval, Perth
Throw-in:
6.30pm (local time)
Irish-time:
11.30am (Friday)
Match will be broadcast live
on RTÉ 2 and Setanta Ireland
Second Test
Friday, October 31st
MCG, Melbourne
Throw-in:
7.45pm (local time)
Irish-time:
8.45am (Friday)
Match will be broadcast live
on RTÉ 2 and Setanta Ireland
