Ireland coast to easy victory

Australia 36 Ireland 80:A record victory for Ireland in Melbourne this morning gave them a bullet-proof lead of 44 heading into next week's second test of the 2011 international rules series. In doing so, the team equalled the 80 points scored in the very first year of the tests in 1984.

The news isn’t great for the future of the international series, as on top of the totally one-sided encounter a very poor crowd of just 22,921 turned up at the Etihad Stadium – half the previous lowest crowd to have attended a test in Melbourne since the modern series resumed.

The result cast doubts on the AFL selection of lower-profile players, as although they battled away, showed some turns of speed and availed of sufficient scores to avoid equalling the poorest total in the series, 31 – scored once by each country in 2001 and ’05, their discomfort with the round ball was evident throughout.

It took a defensive disaster in the Ireland rearguard to gift the hosts their only goal – captain Brad Green gratefully sliding the ball into an empty net at the end of the first quarter after his Irish counterpart Stephen Cluxton directed an ill-advised pass across his own goal.

Ireland won all of the quarters and led 44-20 at half-time.

Led by strong performances from Kerry/AFL pair Tadhg Kennelly and Tommy Walsh, Ireland created greater scoring chances and took them emphatically with Donegal’s Michael Murphy and Kildare’s Eamonn Callaghan scoring first-half goals.

In the second half, which turned largely into a procession, there were further goals from Leighton Glynn and former captain Stephen McDonnell, who ended up with 18 points, copper-fastening his position as Ireland’s top points scorer over the series.

The biggest concern for Ireland was the injury to Emmet Bolton, who had to be stretchered off the field wearing a neck brace after an accidental collision with Mitch Robinson in the third quarter. Ireland manager Anthony Tohill appeared resigned to losing the Kildare player for the second test next Friday on The Gold Coast.

Word from the hospital this afternoon was that Bolton was comfortable and in good spirits, and hopeful of a discharge – pending the results of a scan.