O'Rourke primed for tests ahead

Irish International Rules manager Colm O'Rourke does not believe that the aftermath of the All-Ireland final will hamper the preparations of the Cork and Meath players selected to travel for the series.

The Irish party leave on Saturday for Melbourne and at the moment, players are training individually to improve upon speed and stamina.

"I have spoken to most of them and they are all looking forward to the trip. The main thing for players from both teams is that it has been a very long and drawn out season which can obviously be quite draining. It is understandable that the Cork lads will be down after the loss, but they'll pick themselves up in good time for the games. I don't think the Meath fellas have been celebrating particularly hard, so I'd imagine they'll be very focused on this as well," he said yesterday.

O'Rourke said the benefits of the rigorous fitness programme designed by selectors John O'Keeffe and Mickey Moran have been marked.

"It is quite clear that all the players have been following the programme faithfully because you can see the improvements literally by the week. In some cases, there have been surges of up to 20 per cent in terms of fitness levels."

The management team has been receiving regular information on the Australian camp and, if anything, expect their team to have improved upon the squad that visited Ireland last Autumn.

"While it is essentially their All-Star team from the season gone by, there have been a number of adjustments. A lot of the big names from last year are still there - Nathan Buckley, Wayne Carey and the like - but Dermot Brearton and Jim Stynes seem to be choosing players with the International Rules in mind. So a lot of the taller players they brought last year have not been retained. "I think last year illustrated the importance of tailoring the team to suit the game and that there are differences between it and their own game. Players are being chosen with particular roles in mind."

O'Rourke has experience of Australia as a player with the Irish squad who visited Melbourne in 1990 and he does not foresee acclimatisation problems.

"We'll rest up upon arriving and will probably have a few light evening sessions. Excessively hot weather might present a problem, but I think that at this time of year the area is fairly cool and I'd be surprised if we faced anything more stern than reasonably good Irish summer temperatures."

That the games will be played under lights provides another potential pitfall for the Irish, but they will train under similar conditions in the build-up to the first test on Friday week to familiarise themselves with the experience.

"I'm not too concerned about that," offered O'Rourke. "It was the same situation the last time we played there and it didn't upset us really, so I can't seeing it being much of a factor."

This series is considered pivotal to the consolidation of future series. While last autumn's spectacle was warmly received by the Irish public, the Australian effort was greeted with indifference by their fans, who have been slow to see the attraction of the game.

Although both the GAA and the AFL have committed themselves to another series, the ability to attract a solid fan base over the next three weeks will do much to enhance the prospect of the series becoming an annual event.

"Well, last year we saw some great entertainment and if there is a repeat of that I'm sure the Australian public will welcome it," predicted O'Rourke.