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International rules football (also known as "inter rules" in Australia and "compromise rules" in Ireland; in Irish, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta) is a hybrid code of football which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules footballers and Gaelic footballers.
The first games played were Test matches between Australia and a touring Meath Gaelic Football team which took place in late 1967, after Meath had won that year\'s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. A second series took place the next year, with matches played in Ireland, the UK and United States. Following intermittent international tests between Australia and an all-Ireland team, the International Rules Series between senior teams from Australia (AFL) and Ireland (GAA) was played annually between 1998-2006 and has generally been a closely matched contest with the early series generally going to the visiting team, and later titles almost always going to the host team. However the future of the tests is in doubt after the senior International Rules Series between Australia and Ireland was cancelled for 2007 by the Central Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association on December 9, 2006 with no plans to reinstate it. This was due to ongoing criticism about the conduct of the games."Irish scrap International Rules tour", The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
International Rules Football is one of few team sports or football codes in the world without any dedicated clubs or leagues. It is currently played by both men\'s, juniors and women\'s teams only in tournaments or once-off Test matches. The GAA\'s decision may have an impact on the future participation in the game at all levels.
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The rules are designed to provide a compromise between those of the two codes, with Gaelic footballers being advantaged by the use of a round ball and a rectangular field (Australian rules uses an oval ball and field), while the Australian rules football players benefit from the opportunity to tackle between the shoulders and thighs, something banned in Gaelic football. The game also introduces the concept of the mark, from Australian rules football, with a free kick paid for any ball caught from a kick of over 15 metres.
The game uses two large posts and two small posts, as in Australian rules, and a crossbar and goal net as in Gaelic football. This is similar to the format used for both Gaelic football and Hurling until about 100 years ago[citation needed]. Points are scored as follows:
Scores are written so as to clarify how many of each type of score were made as well as, like Australian football, giving the total points score for each team; for example, if a team scores one goal, four overs and 10 behinds, the score is written as 1-4-10 (28) - meaning one goal (six points) plus 4 overs (4 × 3 = 12 points) plus 10 behinds (10 × 1 = 10 points), for a total score of 28 points.
An international rules match lasts for 72 minutes (divided into four quarters of 18 minutes each). Gaelic football matches also go for 70 minutes, divided into two halves, and Australian rules matches typically go for 4 quarters of 30 minutes each (while the official duration varies between 15 and 25 minutes depending on the league, for AFL it is 20 minutes which means around 27 to 31 minutes after time on).
As in Gaelic football, teams consist of fifteen players, including a goalkeeper, whereas eighteen are used in Australian rules (no keeper).
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The following rule changes were implemented as from the 2006 International Rules Series:
The first games were the idea of Australian sports broadcaster and media personality Harry Beitzel who organised a tour in October 1967 to play Meath Gaelic Football Club after Meath had won that year\'s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The Australian team, known as "The Galahs" defeated Meath 3.16 to 1.10 at Croke Park then defeated Mayo 2.12 to 2.5. The following year Beitzel organised a second series ("The Australian Football World Tour"), in which an Australian representative team was undefeated in a six matches against Irish sides at Wembley Stadium, London, Croke Park, Dublin, Meath and Kerry in Ireland, and New York.[citation needed] Informal games were played intermittently from then.
| International Rules Series | |
|---|---|
| Series |
1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Participants | Australia | Ireland |
The senior International Rules Series is played each October, after the completion of the Australian Football League Grand Final and All-Ireland Football Final which are both played on the last weekend of September.
The Irish team is selected by the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Australian team is selected by the Australian Football League.
The series alternates host countries each year between Ireland and Australia. Since the resumption of the senior international series in 1998, the average attendance up to the conclusion of the 2006 series has been 48,199. Ireland has won seven matches, Australia has won five with a further two being drawn. The 2006 series sold out both matches in Ireland and set a record for international sports in Ireland with a crowd of 82,127 at Croke Park.
Following controversies in the 2006 series, including an Irish player being knocked unconscious in a tackle, the Irish team coach and GAA president again cast doubts on the future of the series. The AFL\'s chief, however expressed optimism. The two organisations agreed to meet to once again discuss the series. Regardless of the on-field and off-field controversies, there is no doubt that the series has significant financial and representational benefits to both organisations.
| Country | Series won | Test matches won 1 | Points scored |
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | 7 | 14 | 1,681 |
 Ireland | 6 | 14 | 1,664 |
1 Two draws (second test 1999, second test 2002).
Among the first schoolboys international test was played in Melbourne in 1983. The Victorian U17 team played Ireland. An interesting twist in these compromise matches is that the ball used was the oval shaped Australian football rather than the round ball.Image A6180, 29/7/83/11. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
In 2005, in addition to the annual senior international series, Australia and Ireland began to play an under-19 and under-17 contest. Australia won the 2006 seriesAustralia win decider in youth IR series. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.. The junior series was largely instituted by both leagues as a means to identify emerging talent. Aidan Lavelle from Nass County Kildare won the Cian Doyle Medal for best and fairest player in the series.
An exhibition match between an Indigenous Australian touring side composed of players from the Clontarf Foundation and led by Sydney\'s Adam Goodes against South African youth teams was held at Potchefstroom in 2006.
Ladies Gaelic football has been growing almost exponentially in Ireland since the 1970s with over 100,000 women and girls playing in 2006 and figures expected to reach 150,000 by 2010. Women\'s Footy has far fewer players, but numbers have grown strongly since the 1990s. In early 2006 representatives of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association of Ireland and Women\'s Australian Football Leagues met at a Ladies Gaelic football festival in Singapore and agreed to compete in the hybrid version of the two football codes to coincide with the senior men\'s series.
The First Test of the first ever women\'s series took place in Breffni Park, Cavan on October 31, 2006. With Ireland cruising to victory comfortably over their Australian counterparts. The final score of 6.26.16 (130) to 1.2.3 (15) providing a 115 point win to the home side. The Australian team declined an offer to use an oval ball in the Second Test to liven up the series4. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.. The First and Second Tests were broadcast live on Irish channel TG4 as part of its 10th birthday celebrations, it was also broadcast in Australia on Setanta Sports. The Second Test was held on November 4 at Parnell Park, Dublin. The Second Test was won by Ireland 3.5.6 (39) to 0.4.6 (18).
International Rules is played in various locations throughout North America and the Caribbean, Europe and Asia, Australia and New Zealand between fledgling Australian rules football and Gaelic Football clubs.
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