How to Save The International Rules Series

Anyone who read my recent post on the international rules series will undoubtedly be expecting a several hundred word, carefully structured and thoughtfully composed I TOLD YOU SO!!! Complete with "Na Na Na Naaa Na" and everything. However, not being so childish and puerile, I refuse to use the events of Sunday and the resultant storm of controversy, which has led to the series' future prospects being roughly commensurate with Saddam Hussein's, as an opportunity to sanctimoniously blow my own trumpet.

Firstly, the hoo-ha over the violenct scenes in the first quarter has been both overstated and erroneously directed solely against the Aussies (particularly by both Sean Boylan and GAA president Nickey Brennan, the shrillness of both of whose remarks were quite surprising and unnecessary). Sure, the first quarter was an embarassing spectacle, in which the hallowed turf of Croke Park resembled more a particularly unruly playground in boys' junior school, bodies wrestling here, headlocks being imposed there.

The rest of the match, however, was played in considerably cleaner fashion - possibly because the Irish seemed unable to get anywhere near their opponents - which allowed the Australians to display some genuinely impressive skills and play. The tackle on Graham Geraghty which led to the Meathman being hospitalised was indeed totally fair, although one imagines it was delivered with a little more aggression than necessary given Geraghty's low popularity ratings amongst his Australian opponents.

Boylan and Brennan's outrage, however, was clumsier by far than the tackle on Geraghty. Portraying the Irish players as unsuspecting lambs to the slaughter was simply incorrect; the scuffling which preceded the throw-in and occurred throughout the first quarter was the caused by both sides: off the ball jostling, followed by grappling, followed by wrestling on the ground and the occasional punch. Neither side wished to be seen to be backing down and so neither did. Notice the emphasis on dual culpability.

Anyone who is familiar with GAA culture knows that violence, mass brawls, off-the-ball jostling and needle have long been a part of the games, from underage up to, but less commonly nowadays, senior level. The wide-eyed innocents characterisation cannot wash, m'lud.

One imagines the pride of the Irish management and the GAA brass was stung by the ineptitude of the Irish performance and the cry of foul play was issued to spin away criticisms about what took place on the occasions when football broke out.

So is the series doomed? Perhaps. But if those who support it wish to argue for its future, they should not allow the problem of violence to scupper their cause. Had Sunday's game been a closer affair on the scoreboard, it is likely that the unsavoury scenes of the early game would have been forgotten, or at least rationalised. One could speculate that Brennan's comments were also a way of killing the series to spare future Irish humiliations rather than bruises.

Whether there is enough support for the game to steer it through the current choppy waters is unclear; even those who flocked in their tens of thousands did so out of curiosity and for a day out rather than through passion for the sport, and one senses that die-hard fans of either code will not lose too much sleep over its demise.

However, magnanimously, here is my prescription to save the International Rules Series:

1. Discipline, boys, that's the key!
Everyone who turns up for these series wants biff and bang, aggression and commitment. But the game needs to eradicate, for its image and respectability, the too-familiar scenes of brawling. If only so we don't have to listen to Marty Morrissey tut-tutting like a nun at a stripclub. Referees must be instructed to firmly apply disciplinary measures, not simply act like boxing referees, breaking them up, then shouting "box". In fairness the referees on Sunday did sin-bin several players, a contributory factor in the game cooling down after the first quarter.

Importantly, however, the players are operating in a sanction free environment, outside of the series. Therefore, there is no deterrent to players who decide to inflict deliberate violence on an opponent, other than suspension from the next test. They might possibly never play in another one, nor might they ever even meet their opponents again. Suspensions carrying over into regular season AFL/GAA games might prove some deterrent.

2.Come on over to my place..
They may have sounded a little glib, but the comments from Kevin Sheedy that the players and management should sit down and have dinner together aren't totally silly. The week preceding the match had been rife with childish goading and sinister threats. Perhaps if the players saw it as more of an end of season lark than the psychotic, macho bloodfest they evidently perceive it as now then the whole thing could go off a little more pleasantly.

One of the series' high points came a few years ago when Graham Canty and Barry Hall had an almightly, but clean, tussle for the duration of the match. At the end, both embraced and complimented each other's performance, Hall stating that he was looking forward to next time.

A few beers and a bucket of chicken wings might help defuse the tension and retrieve some of that cameraderie.

3.Full-Time Job
Physicality. Athleticism. Preparation time. Recovery time. All of these issues are advantages for the Australian professionals, and skew the series in their favour. Several Irish players played club games between the two matches of the international rules series and most would have worked in their jobs in the intervening days.

I have documented my problems with the integrity of this game as a sport, but fundamentally, if there are to be only two teams competing, they at least should be doing so from an equal standing point. It's clear that the Australians are getting the hang of the round ball and goalscoring, once seen as the fundamental advantages the amateur Irish enjoyed.

So if the series has a future, the Irish players must become professional.

Well I never said it was going to be easy....