The 2008 International Rules Series was the 14th annual

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (s ...

and was played between

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 ...

. After the 2007 series was cancelled by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

, the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

and the GAA agreed in 2008 to resume the series. The matches were played in Australia – 24 October in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and 31 October in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

(after the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...

and

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

). Ireland won by five points on aggregate after recording victories in both tests.

Rule changes

* Maximum of 14 interchanges per quarter. * Teams are allowed only four consecutive hand passes (ball must then be kicked). * Match time reduced from 20 to 18 minutes per quarter (with stoppage time for breaks in play). * Goalkeeper can no longer kick the ball to himself from the kick-out. * Suspensions may carry over the GAA and AFL matches if ''The Match Review Panel'' see fit. * A dangerous "slinging" tackle will be an automatic red card. * A shirtfront endangering the head will result in a red card. * Physical intimidation can result in a yellow card. * One-handed tackles result in a free kick. * An independent referee can cite players for reportable offenses from the stands. * Yellow cards sin bin reduced to 10 minutes.

Squads

Notes: * Main sources for squads: BBC Sport Online and

Hogan Stand Hoganstand.com is a news website and the online face of the monthly Gaelic games magazine ''Hogan Stand'', which is distributed throughout Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atla ...

. *

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

's Tommy Walsh was named on the original Irish squad, but had to withdraw due to club commitments with

Kerins O'Rahilly's Kerins O'Rahilly's are a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. They are based in the Strand Road area of the town. They are in Division 1 of the county league which they won in 2006, and compete in the County Cham ...

. He was replaced by Paul Finlay. *

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

's Bernard Brogan was named on the Irish original squad, but had to withdraw due to club commitments with St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh. He was replaced by Martin McGrath. * The match-day squad for both teams was limited to 24 players each. Thus Australia (who had a 25 man squad) had to drop one player for each test and Ireland (who had a 27 man squad) had to drop three players. Ireland manager Boylan was criticised for including

David Gallagher David Lee Gallagher (born February 9, 1985) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor and model at the age of two, Gallagher is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee and Teen Choice Award winner. He is b ...

in his squad, as he was not then playing

inter-county Inter-county, or inter county is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players o ...

football.

Irish management team

* Coach –

Seán Boylan Seán Boylan (born 12 December 1949) is an Irish former Gaelic football manager from Dunboyne, County Meath. He retired from his position as manager of the senior Meath county team on the evening of 31 August 2005 after twenty-three years in ch ...

* Selectors: **

Anthony Tohill Anthony Tohill (born 2 August 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is a former chief executive of the Mid Ulster District Council. Early life and family Tohill was b ...

Hugh Kenny Hugh Kenny is a former Irish Gaelic footballer from Baltinglass in County Wicklow. Kenny was part of the Baltinglass team that dominated Wicklow football in the 1980s and 1990s, winning an All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship Title in ...

Eoin Liston Eoin "Bomber" Liston (born 16 October 1957 in Ballybunion, County Kerry) is an Irish former sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Beale, his divisional side Shannon Rangers and at senior level for the Kerry county team bet ...

* Runner – Seán Marty Lockhart * Backroom team: **

Trevor Brennan Trevor Brennan (born 29 September 1973) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played for Barnhall, Bective Rangers, St Marys College RFC, Leinster, Stade Toulousain and Ireland, being capped 13 times. He played either in the second row o ...

(fitness & tackling) ** Mike McGurn (fitness & tackling) * Tour Manager – Seán Walsh * Assistant Tour Manager – Tommy Kilcoyne * Team doctor – Dr. Owen Clarke * Physiotherapist – Frank Foley * Masseur – Martin Regan * Kit manager – Owen Lynch * Waterboys – Ciaran Boylan and Pauric Gallagher Notes: * Main sources: Hogan Stand

Refereeing team

* Main referees –

Pat McEnaney Pat McEnaney (born 1960/1961/1962/1963) is a Gaelic footballer and referee from Corduff in County Monaghan. He officiated many high-profile inter-county matches, including four finals of the All-Ireland SFC. Many would rate McEnaney as the bes ...

(Ireland) and Stephen McBurney (Australia) * Standby referees / linesmen –

David Coldrick David Coldrick is a Gaelic football referee from County Meath. A member of the Blackhall Gaels club, he has refereed four finals of the All-Ireland SFC. Seán Moran, writing in ''The Irish Times'' in 2015, described Coldrick as "one of the l ...

(Ireland) and

Brett Rosebury Brett Rosebury (born 19 March 1980) is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has umpired 418 career games in the AFL since his debut in Round 13, 2000, as of the end of the 2017 season. He um ...

(Australia) * Umpires – Gearóid Ó Conámha &

John Bannon John Charles Bannon (7 May 1943 – 13 December 2015) was an Australian politician and academic. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party from a single term in opposition ba ...

(Ireland) and Steven Axon & Peter Nastasi (Australia) * Video match referee – Ian Curlewis (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) Notes: * Main source: Hogan Stand

Matches

First test

Second test

References

External links

* {{GAA 2008

International Rules series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (s ...

International Rules series International sports competitions hosted by Australia