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The International Rules Series is a senior men's
international rules football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...
competition between the
Australia international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Australian women's team, see Australia women's international rules football team.'' The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in Inte ...
(selected by 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
Ireland international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Irish women's team, see Ireland women's international rules football team.'' :''This article concerns the hybrid sport of International Rules Football; for information on Ireland's n ...
(selected 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 series is played biannually over two Test matches in November after the completion of 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 the
All-Ireland Football Final The All-Ireland Men's Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is an annual series of games played in Ireland during the summer and early autumn, and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Contested ...
, which are both traditionally played in late September, and the winner is the team with the highest cumulative score over both Tests; however, there have been six unscheduled years since 2009. The matches are played using a set of compromise rules decided upon by both the two governing bodies; the game is known formally as
international rules football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...
. While the International Rules Series matches use some rules from
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
, the field, ball and uniforms of both teams are all from
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
.


History

The two teams contest a trophy, which in 2004 was named the Cormac McAnallen Cup—after the Tyrone team captain
Cormac McAnallen Cormac McAnallen ( ga, Cormac Mac An Ailín; 11 February 1980 – 2 March 2004) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Eglish St Patrick's club and the Tyrone county team. With Tyrone, McAnallen won the All-Ireland Senior Footbal ...
, whose death that year from a
heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
condition at 24 years old came after he had represented
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 ...
in the previous three series. The concept for the series originates from the
Australian Football World Tour The Australian Football World Tour was a series of international rules football matches, organised by football sports broadcaster and former VFL umpire Harry Beitzel and Irish born Melburnian, James Harkin in 1967 and 1968. First tour The first ...
, which took place in 1967 and 1968. The tour saw a collection of Australian footballers from the VFL,
SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...
and WAFL competitions travel to Ireland for an itinerary of matches played under modified Gaelic football rules. The first proper series took place in Ireland in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
under a three-match format, whereby the team accumulating the most wins from the series were victors. Following poor Australian crowds and a relative lack of interest in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, the series was revived in 1998 under a two-match aggregate points format. The popularity of the series saw it continue over the next eight years until violent on-field brawling in the mid-2000s saw it cancelled in 2007. A women's series was staged in Ireland in 2006, which to this date remains the only women's series to have taken place between the nations. An under-17 boys series was held each year between 1999 and 2006 before it was abandoned. The series returned in 2008, although it featured randomly on the calendar over the next decade, going unscheduled in 2009, 2012, 2016, and in 2018–2019. Since 2014, the Australian team has endeavoured to pick players who have been selected in an
All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...
on at least one occasion in their careers. This followed the 2013 series, which was notable for the inclusion of an Australian team made up of exclusively
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
players, known as the Indigenous All-Stars. Ireland inflicted the largest victory in the history of the series, scoring a record-breaking 79-point win in the second Test that resulted in a record-breaking 101-point cumulative victory. The most recent series (
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
) was won by Australia. A series was scheduled in Ireland in 2020, with a return series in Australia scheduled for 2022, but the 2020 series was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
,. According to Australian Rules International, the series will return to Melbourne in 2023.


Results

''Series results, up to and including the 2017 series.''


Venues

The following are lists of International Rules Series venues and their locations, ordered by amount of Test matches hosted:


Ireland


Australia


Player awards


Jim Stynes Medal

The Jim Stynes Medal is awarded to the best player of the Australian team for each series. It was first awarded in 1998 and named after
Jim Stynes James Stynes OAM (23 April 196620 March 2012) was an Irish-born footballer who converted from Gaelic football to Australian rules football. Playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), he went on to become ...
, who won the
All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...
with
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 ...
before joining
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 ...
. With the Demons, he won the 1991
Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
, set the record for most VFL or AFL consecutive games played (with 244), was named to Melbourne's Team of the Century, and was elected into the
Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
while also playing for both Ireland and Australia in the series. He was also honored with a state funeral in Melbourne when he died in 2012. *1998 – Stephen Silvagni (Carlton) *1999 –
Jason Akermanis Jason Dean Akermanis (born 24 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears ...
(Brisbane) *2000 –
James Hird James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but ...
(Essendon) *2001 –
Matthew Lloyd Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...
(Essendon) *2002 – Andrew Kellaway (Richmond) *2003 –
Brent Harvey Brent Harvey (born 14 May 1978), often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches playe ...
(North Melbourne) *2004 – Nathan Brown (Richmond) *2005 –
Andrew McLeod Andrew Luke McLeod (born 4 August 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games. ...
(Adelaide) *2006 –
Ryan O'Keefe Ryan O'Keefe (born 24 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL), and was part of the Swans' 2005 and 2012 premiership-winning sides. O'Keefe was a membe ...
(Sydney) *2008 –
Kade Simpson Kade Simpson (born 5 May 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire career with the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 342 games across 18 seasons from 2003 to 2020. He holds the VF ...
(Carlton) *2010 –
Dane Swan Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
(Collingwood) *2011 – James Kelly (Geelong) *2013 –
Ashley McGrath Ashley Vernon McGrath (born 20 May 1983) is a retired indigenous Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League. Selected in the 2000 AFL Draft with the thirteenth pick overall, the Brisbane ...
(Brisbane) *2014 –
Luke Hodge Luke Hodge (born 15 June 1984) is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2002 to 2017, ...
(Hawthorn) *2015 – Harry Taylor (Geelong) *2017 –
Nat Fyfe Nathan Fyfe (born 18 September 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Fremantle captain since the 2017 season. Fyfe is a dual Brown ...
(Fremantle)


GAA Medal

The GAA Medal (also known as the ''Irish Player of the Series'') is awarded in similar circumstances to the Australian award, whereby the Irish player adjudged as the best performed from each series wins the medal. It has been awarded since 2004. *2004 – Stephen Cluxton (Dublin) *2005 – Tom Kelly (Laois) *2006 –
Alan Brogan Alan Brogan (born 11 January 1982) is a Gaelic footballer from the St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh club who played for the Dublin county team from 2002 until his retirement in 2015. He can play in the full forward line but usually played cen ...
(Dublin) *2008 –
Graham Canty Graham Canty (born 23 July 1980) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-back for the Cork senior team. Born in Bantry, County Cork, Canty arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the C ...
(Cork) *2010 –
Colm Begley Colm Begley (born 31 August 1986) is an Irish Gaelic footballer from County Laois. He has also played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club and the Brisbane Lions of the Australian Football League (AFL). Begley played ...
(Laois) *2011 –
Tadhg Kennelly Tadhg Kennelly (born 1 July 1981) is an Irish-Australian former international sportsperson turned recruiter and coach. He is most known for his top-level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football being the only holder of bot ...
(Kerry/Sydney) *2013 –
Ciarán Sheehan Ciarán Sheehan (born 19 November 1990 in Farran, County Cork, Ireland) is an Irish sportsman. Sheehan played Gaelic football and hurling with his local club Éire Óg GAA (Cork), Éire Óg, his divisional side Muskerry GAA, Muskerry, and was ...
(Cork/Carlton) *2014 –
Conor McManus Conor McManus (born 1987) is a Gaelic footballer who plays at senior level for the Monaghan county team. Often referred to as his county's best ever player, he is Monaghan's top scorer in National Football League history. After winning the 20 ...
(Monaghan) *2015 – Bernard Brogan (Dublin) *2017 –
Conor McManus Conor McManus (born 1987) is a Gaelic footballer who plays at senior level for the Monaghan county team. Often referred to as his county's best ever player, he is Monaghan's top scorer in National Football League history. After winning the 20 ...
(Monaghan) (2)


Harry Beitzel Medal

The
Harry Beitzel Henry John "Harry" Beitzel (6 April 1927 – 13 August 2017) was an Australian football umpire, print, radio and television sports broadcaster and media personality best known for his contribution to Australian rules football. Early sporting li ...
Medal was awarded to players adjudged "fairest and best" on the field during the 1984 to 1990 series. Beitzel was honoured for his pioneering of the sport and the fact that he arranged the first ever official contact between the two sports of
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
and
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
. *1984 – Jimmy Kerrigan (Ireland) *1986 –
Robert Dipierdomenico Berto "Robert" DiPierdomenico (born 5 May 1958) is a retired Australian rules footballer who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Popularly known by his nickname "Dipper", DiPierdomenico is one of th ...
(Australia) *1987 – Tony McGuinness (Australia) *1990 –
Jack O'Shea Jack O'Shea (born 19 November 1957 in Cahersiveen, County Kerry) is an Irish former sportsperson. He played Gaelic football at various times with his local clubs St Mary's in Kerry and Leixlip in Kildare. He was a member of the Kerry senior fo ...
(Ireland)


Sponsorship

The Australian team were sponsored until 2006 by Foster's, which also sponsored series held in Australia.
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
took over both roles for the 2008 series. Australian plastic manufacturer Nylex sponsored the Australian team in 2010, whilst Toyota and Carlton Draught were guernsey sponsors for the 2011 series. Supermarket chain Coles and community health group National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) were guernsey sponsors for the 2013 series. Airline company
Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue'', with two ...
and
Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...
have sponsored the Australian teams since 2014. The Irish team, and all series held in Ireland, were sponsored by
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
until 2008. The 2010 and 2013 series in Ireland was sponsored by the ''
Irish Daily Mail The ''Irish Daily Mail'' is a newspaper published in Ireland and :Northern Ireland by DMG Media (the parent company of the British ''Daily Mail''). The paper launched in February 2006 with a launch strategy that included giving away free copies ...
'', while
Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
television station
TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...
sponsored the Irish team in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Gaelic games online streaming service GAAGO.ie were sponsors of the Irish team in 2014 and 2015, whilst
electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
company EirGrid were the title sponsors of the 2015 series in Ireland.


Audience


Television

The International Rules Series has been broadcast on television in Australia and Ireland since the late 1990s. In Ireland it has usually been broadcast on
RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
; from 2010 to 2014 the series was broadcast live by
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
-language channel
TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...
. RTÉ reclaimed the rights to the series in 2015. In Australia, the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
broadcast the 1998–2001 series, whilst the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
broadcast the 2002–2005 series. In Australia the 2006 and 2011 series were broadcast on
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
, though all other series have been broadcast on the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
and simulcast on
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
. The series has had reach into global markets. From 2005, broadcasting extended its reach to the United States via Setanta Sports North America and to Hong Kong via the Australia Network. The 2006 series was broadcast to the United Kingdom via Setanta Sports 2. Defunct New Zealand free-to-air sports network
Sommet Sports Sommet Sports was a sports-oriented television channel operated in New Zealand that was broadcast on channel 14 on Freeview NZ. It offered a varied range of sporting events, some of which had never been screened in New Zealand. This included liv ...
broadcast the 2013 and 2014 series. The 2014 Test match was broadcast live in the United States and parts of Europe and Asia.


Attendance

The series alternates host countries each appropriate year 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 ...
. Since the commencement of the modern era series in 1998, the average attendance up to the conclusion of the 2017 series was 34,337. On two occasions, Test matches have sold out in Australia, both in Perth in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
and
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. The first entire series to sell out was in Ireland in 2006 when a combined crowd record of 112,127 was set. The attendance at the second Test of 82,127 at
Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...
was the largest for an international sports fixture in the country. ''Up to date as of 2017 Series''


Criticisms

The series has sustained criticism from several high-profile figures in the respective sports. Three-time All-Ireland-winning Tyrone manager
Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1952) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been manager of the Louth county team since 2020. Harte managed the Tyrone county team from 2002 until his resignation in 2020, at which time he was the ...
has continually called for a cessation to the game. He said in 2008 that the tours to Australia are in essence just a free holiday for the players involved, before repeating the claim in 2011 and calling on the GAA to withdraw from the Series because it does a ''"total disservice to the development of Gaelic games on the international stage"''. Similarly, Australian journalists such as
Mike Sheahan Michael Sheahan (born 4 March 1947) is an Australian journalist who specialises in Australian rules football. He was chief football writer and associate sports editor for the '' Herald Sun'' for 18 years. Although he left these positions at t ...
have argued that the relevance of the series was diminished on account of the Australian team no longer being made up primarily of
All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...
players (though the Australian team resumed being made up of exclusively All-Australian players from 2014). In 2019, ex-Kerry footballer
Tomás Ó Sé Tomás Ó Sé (; born 21 June 1978) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. He played Gaelic football with Nemo Rangers and at senior level for the Kerry county team from 1998 until he retired in 2013, playing predominantly in the half-back line ...
blasted the GAA for continuing to maintain friendly relations with the AFL, arguing the series was primarily responsible for AFL clubs scouting emerging Irish talent and leaving clubs and counties with no compensation for their efforts.


Future of the series

The future of the series was brought into doubt in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, mostly through the on-field actions of some Australian players and excessive physicality by both teams. In December 2006, the GAA decided to abandon the 2007 series, issuing a public statement: "On the recommendation of the Management Committee, it was agreed that there would be no Junior or Senior Series of games in 2007 ...
Dessie Farrell Dessie Farrell is an Irish Gaelic football coach and former player. He has been manager of the Dublin county team since 2019. A former All Star Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for Dublin county team for nearly 15 years, he reti ...
, the player's representative stated that while there would be some disappointment amongst players that the 2007 Series will not take place, the decision was, in his view, probably a wise one." Talks between the two organisations resumed in 2007, and the 2008 series went ahead without incident. Since then, despite an Australian withdrawal from the 2009 series due to "economic concerns", the series appeared to have a strong future. However, following the 2011 series, concerns were raised over relatively small crowd attendances. The small crowds were blamed on a lack of high-profile
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
players being selected in the Australian team as well as a longer AFL season. The series' temporary future was assured by GAA director general Paraic Duffy. During the 2013 series, the possibility of expanding future International Rules games into a tri-series was mooted, in such a way that the series would incorporate the Indigenous All-Stars team that participated in 2013, possibly against an AFL All-Star team for the right to play off against the Irish. Though this idea never eventuated, the AFL has expressed interest in staging an exhibition Test match in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, likely in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
or
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.AFL wants International Rules in New York
/ref> Whilst an extremely lopsided result occurred in the 2013 series and the Australians were accused of demonstrating apathy to the concept, a 2014 series featuring current and former
All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...
players occurred, one that was nevertheless regarded as a demonstrable success. During a successful training camp in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
ahead of the 2015 series, Australian coach
Alastair Clarkson Alastair Thomas Clarkson (born 27 April 1968) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the North Melbourne Football Club. He was previously the head coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the ...
gave his strongest pitch yet for the expansion of the series to include a Test match in America and even an actual American international rules team, to facilitate a tri-nations format. In May 2016, the GAA and AFL announced an agreement to not have a Test match in 2016 and instead renew the 2-match aggregate series in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
(in Australia), with a view to conducting further series in the following years in both Ireland and the United States. The associations agreed to series in 2020 and 2022, but the 2020 series was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
; and, via announcement on December 25, 2022, the 2022 series was delayed, with Mick Malthouse expected to be re-appointed coach of the Australian team.


See also

*
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
*
Comparison of Gaelic football and Australian rules football Australian rules football and Gaelic football are codes of football, from Australia and Ireland respectively, which have similar styles and features of play. Notably both are dominated by kicking from the hand and hand passing as well as rules ...
*
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
*
International rules football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...
**
Australian international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Australian women's team, see Australia women's international rules football team.'' The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in Int ...
**
Ireland international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Irish women's team, see Ireland women's international rules football team.'' :''This article concerns the hybrid sport of International Rules Football; for information on Ireland's n ...


Notes


References


External links


Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) International Rules pages

Australian Football League (AFL) International Rules pages

Australian Football International Rules
– Archive of past results and statistics
WFN International Rules
– News and historical information section regarding the sport
Laws of the Game
– Updated per 2014 rule changes
AFL Europe Page

Footage of first Test of 2010 series
from YouTube

– Complete series results and news archive of every Test match
Hogan Stand International Rules section
– IRS news section from Irish GAA website {{Gaelic Athletic Association Irish-Australian culture International rules football