Future of Rules lies Down Under

The first test of the revived International Rules series was always in danger of becoming a nonevent. The build-up was too close both to the All-Ireland and to last Sunday's match. Not enough time to come down from the former and not enough time to crank up the publicity for the latter.

In the end, the GAA had reason to be well pleased with how the match went. A better-than-expected crowd of 22,000 spread around the ground and created a good atmosphere. More importantly the match itself was a sufficiently interesting spectacle to confirm that the hybrid game had retained its possibilities after nearly a decade in mothballs.

And although the matter of public interest is vital to the long-term prospects of the series, there had to be more fundamental concern about the state of the game itself: how had the evolution of its constituent parts affected it and how committed to its survival were the two participants?

That the Australians had been anxious to reestablish the link was encouraging but it was still vital that on the pitch - and not just off it - International Rules remained marketable.

By the time the hooter wailed its last on Sunday, that much was confirmed. The game at its best earned the soubriquet "space-age football" from an impressed Hugh McIlvanney who reported for the Observer on the third match of the 1984 series in Ireland. That potential is evidently still intact.

Last Sunday's meeting was fast and skilful at times but didn't compare with some of the best matches in the code's limited history because all the competitive excitement came in the final quarter. Australia started too poorly for the good of the match and at stages, even Irish spectators must have been hoping that the visitors were going to make some sort of a contest of it.

Few would have been prepared for the scale of the final-quarter resurrection and it created a gripping spectacle completely out of the blue. Ironically, it was the two sides' unexpected facility with the elements of the game least familiar to them which impressed most.

Australia added themselves to the short list, comprising new All-Ireland champions Galway and the women footballers of Waterford, of teams who have elevated the skill of kicking points (overs in International Rules) in Croke Park.

Ireland, for their part, showed a deft touch in the face of the game's physical tackle and for most of the match, the home players kept the ball moving sufficiently quickly to avoid being caught in possession. As they tired towards the end, it was noticeable that this well-drilled practice was beginning to falter and players - particularly defenders - appeared surprised as they were nailed with the ball after having accomplished the primary aim of winning possession.

In fact, in the early stages of the match, Ireland had succeeded in mastering the implications of the tackle so well that the frustrated Australians occasionally resorted to late tackles - a subject of complaint by Ireland manager Colm O'Rourke in the post-match press conference.

With the match going reasonably well, the matter of discipline was also important. Contrary to the public caricature, International Rules has been reasonably well-behaved in its two most recent series, 1987 and '90. This aspect will have been particularly pleasing for the GAA.

Despite the scatter at the end of the third quarter, the test was an orderly affair. The Australians showed every sign of fulfilling their undertakings to play within the rules and proceedings were free from the rancorous edge that had tainted previous series, even the better-behaved ones.

From an Australian perspective, this new restraint was hardly surprising. Within their own Rules game, discipline has become a major consideration and with the use of video evidence, violent and undisciplined play have been severely punished.

That was why the fracas after the third quarter was effectively a novelty for the visitors. Afterwards their attitude towards this and the pitch invasion by their replacements bench was one of amusement - "we wouldn't get away with that at home".

But just as the more disciplined mentality of the Australians is a benefit to the game, there is still a difficulty posed by other aspects of their approach. Although the brawl and the quaintly-named `bench clearance' were harmless - and the fight at least jointly-initiated by Irish players - the air of levity which marked the visitors' reaction indicates that the International Rules series isn't viewed with quite the same deadly seriousness in the southern hemisphere.

No one would fault the players' commitment as demonstrated in the stirring fourth-quarter revival and in the presence of the highest-quality Australian panel yet to contest a series. Nor can anyone doubt the AFL's enthusiasm for the project but the problem remains that the game is seen in Australia as not enough of a compromise by the Gaelic footballers.

Whereas there is no doubt that the Australians exaggerate the bias towards the Irish game (the ball may be round but the tackle and the mark are squarely Australian), it is equally true that they do bear the brunt of the accommodations necessary to establish the game. And the fact that they feel comparatively uninvolved in the evolution of the game itself is a problem.

Practical people will point out that the use of a round ball has created a competitive game between the countries whereas the Irish would run the danger of being overwhelmed if the oval Australian Rules ball was to become a feature. Yet the stark fact remains that without wider interest amongst the Australian public, the hybrid game can never become a fully competitive international sport.

There's little use in International Rules being fast, attractive and exciting if the shape of the ball precludes one of the participants from fully engaging with the game. The Australian series in 1999 and 2001 will accordingly settle the future of the game as currently constituted.

Ireland manager Colm O'Rourke made the point in his Sunday Independent column that the series should be like the Railway Cup - retained as long as players are anxious to play in it. Aside from the fact that International Rules is like the Railway Cup because players always accord their club a higher priority than their province or country, the reality is that whereas a few provincial matches in January can be easily enough arranged, a tour to the other side of the world is somewhat different.

Sponsors are needed to defray the costs, sponsors need publicity and publicity requires the public to be engaged. The Irish public has again shown signs of being willing but the Australians have to feel more directly involved if the series is to have a long-term future.