The 1999 International Rules Series was the sixth annual International Rules Series and the second time that a test series of international rules football has been played between Ireland and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

since the series resumed in 1998. The 1999 series was played in Australia with a two-test series used to decide the winner. The first test was played at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

and the second test was played at Football Park in Adelaide. The 1999 Series was historic for the fact that a then record crowd of 64,326 turned up at the

for the first test followed by a strong 45,187 fans at the second test in Adelaide. The two combined crowds equalled to 109,513, smashing the opening record at the previous year's series in Ireland. The second test of the 1999 series in Adelaide finished as a draw, the first time such a result occurred in an international rules series.

Series overview

The first test was played at the

in front of a then record crowd of 64,326. In a high scoring game, the Irish were victorious with McDermott scoring Ireland's only goal of the match. The Australians were not disgraced, finishing just 8 points behind the Irish at the end of the night with Nathan Buckley kicking 5 overs. The second test provided a unique result. In a first for any international rules game, the second test finished as a draw. Despite this, the Irish still won the series by 8 points on aggregate (their winning margin of the first test). Nathan Buckley again scored 5 overs, prompting many to pronounce him the Jim Stynes Medal winner.

Michael O'Loughlin Michael Kevin O'Loughlin (born 20 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played his entire Australian Football League career with the Sydney Swans. O'Loughlin was named a member of the Indigenous Team of the ...

and Shane Crawford each scored a goal each whilst for the Irish, McDermott and Tohill gained scores of 7 in front of over 45,000 people at Football Park in Adelaide. Ireland won the series 122–114 on aggregate.

Squads

''For Australian squad see: Australia 1999 Team''
''For Ireland squad see: Ireland 1999 Team''

Matches

First test

Second test

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20141006072553/http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/Aust-Ireland.html#1999 * http://internationalrules.gaa.ie/1999.html
Archived
2009-06-11) * http://www.tariksport.com/international%20rules%20results.shtml
Archived
2009-06-11) {{DEFAULTSORT:International Rules Series

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...