The 1999 International Rules Series was the sixth 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 (se ...

and the second time that a test series of

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 ...

has been 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 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 and the second test was played at

Football Park Football Park, known commercially as AAMI Stadium, was an Australian rules football stadium located in West Lakes, a western suburb of Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia, Australia. It was built in 1973 by the South Australian Na ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. The 1999 Series was historic for the fact that a then record crowd of 64,326 turned up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the first test followed by a strong 45,187 fans at the second test in

. The two combined crowds equalled to 109,513, smashing the opening record at the previous year's series in

. The second test of the 1999 series in

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 Melbourne Cricket Ground 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 Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

kicking 5 overs. The second test provided a unique result. In a first for any

international rules 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 ...

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 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 ...

Medal winner. Michael O'Loughlin and

Shane Crawford Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...

each scored a goal each whilst for the Irish, McDermott and Tohill gained scores of 7 in front of over 45,000 people at

. 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 shoot ...

International sports competitions hosted by Australia