Rules series set to go biennial

GAELIC GAMES: The International Rules series is set to switch to a two-year cycle. Although the proposal was discussed at this week's meeting between GAA and AFL officials, a decision was deferred until May when the series' Joint Control Committee meets again to review the rules and procedures governing the international game.

Nonetheless, both sides agreed in principle to reduce the frequency of the series from an annual to a biennial basis.

The impetus for the proposal comes from the GAA, who have become concerned at the impact of the international series on county championships around the country, one of the issues that has influenced recent moves to terminate the series altogether.

Under the proposal this year's series would go ahead as planned in October but the next Irish tour to Australia wouldn't take place until 2008.

GAA president Seán Kelly is en route from Australia, as are the association's director general Liam Mulvihill and commercial and marketing manager Dermot Power. President-elect Nickey Brennan, however, returned yesterday and confirmed that the two-year proposal is to be dealt with in May.

"Everything has yet to be decided by Central Council - and the AFL Commission," he told The Irish Times. "But we talked about the proposal to hold the international series every two years. The AFL didn't object but it was felt that the details should be held over until the meeting later in the year."

That meeting is to be held in Dubai and will attend to matters less urgent than the disciplinary measures agreed earlier this week.

"The thinking behind it was that it puts less pressure on players," said Brennan, "as they'll only have to travel every four rather than every two years and it will also create less disruption in county championships, although that disruption will still take place every two years instead of annually."

This move has been flagged in recent times with Power referring to the possibility in interviews within the past year. Before the negotiation group representing the GAA left they were briefed by Croke Park's director of games Pat Daly in a document also believed to suggest the two-year option.

In the face of criticism of the international series at the Central Council meeting before Christmas - motions to abandon it were deferred pending this week's meeting in Melbourne - Kelly undertook to commission a survey of players' attitudes to the series.

That survey had no bearing on the issue of halving the frequency of the series but influenced the discussions on disciplinary matters this week.

"There were two main findings," said Brennan. "One, that players want the series to continue and two, that they wanted the issue of discipline addressed."

New disciplinary rules were agreed between the GAA and AFL and are subject to agreement by the organisation's ruling bodies.

The GAA's Central Council is due to meet on February 4th and a decision on the future of the series will be taken in the light of the measures announced.

As president, Kelly will present a report on the talks with the AFL and it will be up to the meeting to decide if it wants to proceed with motions calling for an end to the series. One way or the other the matter will have to be settled by the end of next weekend.

"In fairness, if we are going to prepare for the meeting in May," said Brennan, who will have assumed the presidency by then, "we will have to know what the will of Central Council is on the matter and we can't really leave it any longer."

Although attendances have been good with crowds averaging nearly 50,000 per Test, the disruption of club schedules has been a problem.

Last year All-Ireland finalists Tyrone and Kerry provided 10 players for Peter McGrath's travelling panel to Australia, many of whom were involved in already delayed championships.