International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and compromise rules or Aussie rules in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

) is a

team sport A team sport includes any sport where individuals are organized into opposing teams which compete to win or cooperate to entertain their audience. Team members act together towards a shared objective. This can be done in a number of ways s ...

consisting of a hybrid of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between

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 ...

players and

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 ki ...

players. The first tour, known as

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 t ...

, took place in 1967, with matches played in

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The following year, games were played between

and a touring

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

Gaelic football team, Meath being the reigning All-Ireland senior football champions. Following intermittent international tests between Australia and Ireland, the International Rules Series between the senior Australia international rules football team and Ireland international rules football team has been played intermittently since 1984, and has generally been a closely matched contest. The sport has raised interest and exposure in developing markets for Gaelic and Australian football and has been considered a development tool by governing bodies of both codes, particularly by the

AFL Commission The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick. It was formed in 1985 ...

. International rules football does not have any dedicated clubs or leagues. It is currently played by men's, women's, and junior teams only in

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s or Test matches.

Rules

Overview

The rules are designed to provide a compromise or combine between those of the two codes, with Gaelic football players being advantaged by the use of a round ball and a rectangular field measured about long by wide (Australian rules uses an oval ball and field), while the Australian rules football players benefit from the opportunity to tackle by grabbing between the shoulders and thighs and pulling to the ground, something banned in Gaelic football. The game also introduces the concept of the

mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

, from Australian rules football, with a free kick awarded for a ball caught from a kick of over , where the kick must be in the forward direction if originating from a teammate. A player must bounce, solo (kick into one's own hands) or touch the ball on the ground once every or six steps. A maximum of two bounces per possession are allowed, while players can solo the ball as often as they wish on a possession. Unlike in Gaelic football, the ball may be lifted directly off the ground, without putting a foot underneath it first. Players however cannot scoop the ball off the ground to a team-mate, nor pick up the ball if they are on their knees or on the ground. If a foul is committed, a free kick will be awarded, though referees (called umpires in Australian Rules) can give the fouled player advantage to play on at their discretion. International Rules Football scores

The game uses two large posts usually set apart, and connected above the ground by a

crossbar Crossbar may refer to: Structures * Latch (hardware), a post barring a door * Top tube of a bicycle frame * Crossbar, the horizontal member of various sports goals * Crossbar, a horizontal member of an electricity pylon Other * In electronic ...

with a goal net that could extend behind the goalposts and attached to the crossbar and lower goalposts, as in Gaelic football. A further apart on either side of those and not connected by a crossbar are 2 small posts, known as behind posts, as in Australian rules football. Points are scored as follows: * Under the crossbar and into the goal net (a goal): 6 points, umpire waves a green flag and raises both index fingers. * Over the crossbar and between the two large posts (an over): 3 points, umpire waves red flag and raises one arm above his head. * Between either of the large posts and small posts (a behind): 1 point, umpire waves white flag and raises one index finger. Scores are written so as to clarify how many of each type of score were made as well as, like Australian football, giving the total points score for each team; for example, if a team scores one goal, four overs and 10 behinds, the score is written as 1–4–10 (28), meaning one goal (six points) plus 4 overs (4 × 3 = 12 points) plus 10 behinds (10 × 1 = 10 points), for a total score of 28 points. An international rules match lasts for 72 minutes (divided into four quarters of 18 minutes each). Inter-county Gaelic football matches go on for 70 minutes, divided into two halves, while Australian rules matches consist of four 20-minute quarters of game time (although with the addition of

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

, most quarters actually last around 30 minutes). As in Gaelic football, teams consist of fifteen players, including a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

, whereas eighteen are used in Australian rules (with no keeper).

Alterations

A number of rule changes were introduced before the 2006 International Rules Series: * Match time reduced from 80 minutes to 72 minutes. Time per quarter was reduced from 20 minutes to 18 minutes. * A player who received a red card is to be sent off, and no replacement is allowed; in addition to this, a penalty is awarded regardless of where the incident takes place. (Previously, a replacement ''was'' allowed and a penalty was only awarded if the incident happened in the penalty area.) * A yellow card now means a 15-minute sin bin for the offending player, who will be sent off if he receives a second card. Further alterations were made before the

2008 International Rules Series The 2008 International Rules Series was the 14th annual International Rules Series and was played between Ireland and Australia. After the 2007 series was cancelled by the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Australian Football League and the GAA ...

: * Maximum of 10 interchanges per quarter. * Teams are allowed only four consecutive hand passes (ball must then be kicked). * The goalkeeper can no longer kick the ball to himself from the kick-out. * Suspensions may carry over to GAA and AFL matches if the Match Review Panel sees fit. * A dangerous "slinging" tackle will be an automatic red card. * A front-on bump (known as a shirtfront in Australian football) endangering the head will result in a red card. * Physical intimidation can result in a yellow card. * The keeper cannot be tackled or touched when the keeper is charging. * An independent referee can cite players for reportable offences from the stands. * Yellow card sin bin reduced to 10 minutes. The most recent changes were made ahead of the

2014 International Rules Series The 2014 International Rules Series (officially the 2014 Virgin Australia International Rules Test) was contested between Gaelic footballers from Ireland and Australian footballers from Australia. The 18th series of international rules fo ...

: * Maximum number of interchanges per quarter increased from 10 to 16. * Unlimited number of interchanges allowed at quarter and half time breaks. * Number of consecutive hand-passes teams are allowed increased from 4 to 6. * Marks will not be paid for backwards kicks caught by a teammate. * Goalkeepers required to kick the ball out beyond the 45 m line after all wides, behinds and overs. * Failure of a goalkeeper to kick over the 45 m line will result in a free kick to the opposition (from the 45 m line).

Around the world

International rules has been played in various locations throughout North America and the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand between fledgling Australian rules football and Gaelic football clubs. In 2006, an exhibition match between South African youth teams and an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

touring side composed of players from the

Clontarf Foundation The Clontarf Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that assists in the education and employment of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. Overview With support from the corporate/philanthropic sector, state/Territory governments ...

, led by

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

's Adam Goodes, was held at

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier ( Afrikaans for "pretty ri ...

. The

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

holds an annual International Rules match between its Australian Rules football team and its Gaelic Football team, with the 2013 edition won by the Australian Rules team 56–55, before a crowd of over 400 students. In the International Rules Series, the most well-known International Rules event, Australia and Ireland are at an impasse, with 10 series wins apiece. Most recently in 2017, Australia defeated Ireland with two Test wins and an aggregate score of 116–103.

Amateur tours

The Australian Amateur Football Council has sent an amateur Under-23 All-Australian team to Ireland in both 2005 and 2008. The Australian amateur team wore a different jersey to the AFL representative side, dark green and gold, with a kangaroo emblem. Recently, the

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4. In addition there ...

(VAFA) has sent a squad of players sourced from the top six divisions of its competition to tour Ireland and play various clubs and representative teams.

Rules

Overview

Alterations

Around the world

Amateur tours

See also

References

External links