The GAA emerges from the annual hurling-shinty weekend with a couple of decisions to make about the series' future. Most pressingly, it must make up its colective mind whether the hybrid game is worth pursuing. If so, the whole project has to be taken more seriously.

The weekend showed that hurling-shinty is a mirror-image of the other international experiment, International Rules football. In each, one side makes most of the concessions and - whether consequently or not - the other side doesn't have the same interest.

One side prepares assiduously, selects a team to play the game and regards the matches as genuine international competition. The other side regards the series as essentially a trip abroad every two years and looks on selection as a reward for services rendered.

This may be a simplistic analysis but in recent years it represents the trend. This weekend Leinster travelled as Railway Cup winners to represent Ireland, just as Munster did two years ago. In fairness to the players, it's hard in such circumstances for them to view their reward as a matter for serious training and abstemiousness.

At Bught Park, Inverness, on Saturday, the trend continued. Scotland are unbeaten since the series re-commenced at senior level in 1993. Over those seven years, their team has remained fairly constant.

The players are highly motivated and perform both on the pitch and off with immense pride in their game. Whereas the senior match was, according to those familiar with the series, the worst of recent times and unfortunate in that there was more of a media presence than usual - the GAA brought over some journalists - there was a sense that the experiment had reached a crossroads.

At times the outcome threatened to be embarrassing as the shinty players demonstrated the full repertoire of skills to cut the visitors open. Irish players are undoubtedly disadvantaged by the rules which forbid catching the ball and heavily restrict the kicking of it, but even the things they are supposed to be good at weren't happening on Saturday.

Striking was frequently poor and marksmanship woeful. Of the Irish, only Man of the Match Stephen Byrne, the Offaly goalkeeper, who pulled of a series of stunning saves, and Laois's Niall Rigney, who shored up a distracted defence played near capacity.

The players - seniors particularly - were apprehensive about the shinty stick which is a long, hard piece of lacquered hickory. Unfamilar with its reach, the hurlers were never sure where it might strike and had to be mindful of its capacity to hook them from the next parish.

From the start, Ireland were in trouble. Within two minutes Willie McDonald, one of the series' veterans and a physical competitor, struck a perfect ball into the path of Ronald Ross who added to his international tally with a crisply-struck goal.

By half-time, Scotland had reached 3-5 - further goals by Dougie McIntyre and Victor Smith - and Ireland hadn't troubled the umpires apart from hitting eight wides.

The Scots are allowed two points for their frees because they are struck off the ground. Ireland have the same option, but even Adrian Fenlon, who cuts sidelines from all over Croke Park, couldn't manage the trick from frees.

By contrast, the shinty players can hit the ball like golfers and a couple of two-pointers were sent sailing over the bar. Otherwise the international game relies on a lot of ground-striking and the Scots are far more comfortable with that.

An inkling of what could be achieved was discerned in the second half when Ireland pinched a couple of goals and could have had more while restricting their opponents to a mere point. Scotland still ran out 3-6 to 2-1 winners.

A more positive experience for the hurlers was enjoyed in the under-21 match. As with the seniors, the goalkeeping contribution was important and Waterford's Brendan Landers was also named Man of the Match.

Up front Henry Shefflin was the man and took 2-3, but there were also good contributions from two substitutes, Tipperary's Paul Kelly with three points and Chris McGrath, son of Wexford legend Hopper, who bagged 1-4.

Less edifying was the fate of Offaly pair Ger Oakley and Colm Cassidy, who instead of enjoying a merited knees-up on the Saturday night, were on their way home to face each other in an under-21 county quarter-final. Their clubs, Birr and Kilcormac-Killoughey, had agreed to a postponement, but the county board generously insisted on staging the match, thus greatly reducing the two players' enjoyment of what should have been a memorable trip.

The under-12s ground hurling match between Inverness and Clare ended in a 2-2 draw.