The GAA will hold talks with the Australian Football League in Sydney next week to decide on a future format for the International Rules series. It’s still unclear if agreement can be reached to confirm a series for 2019, or if other options will be explored such as staging a game outside of Ireland and Australia.
A party of GAA officials are making the trip to Australia next week along with the Galway and Kilkenny hurling teams, who won the right to contest the inaugural Wild Geese Trophy, that match set for Sunday week, November 11th, at the Showground Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park.
For Galway it was the bonus prize for winning the 2017 All-Ireland final over Waterford, while Kilkenny earned their tickets as 2018 Allianz League champions, beating Tipperary in the final last April.
Designed as a sort of exhibition match as part of a two-day Sydney Irish Festival, it has also been agreed that the winners are guaranteed a return trip to contest the 2020 trophy, thus ensuring at least some element of proper competition.
The International Rules series, however, is still carrying an element of uncertainty. It was agreed in principle that after the two-Test series in Adelaide and Perth in November of last year, there would be a return two-Test series in Ireland in 2019. That is still open to some discussion depending on exactly what the AFL brings to the table next week, possibly revisiting the plan to play some of the games in the US, mostly likely New York.
This was first suggested in 2015, when Ireland last hosted what was a one-Test series: there were no Tests in 2016, before the two-Test series resumed in November 2017, Australia winning both games, 63-53 in Adelaide, and 53-50 in Perth, winning back the Cormac McAnallen Cup in the process.
Club versus country
In ways the International Rules series has always been about compromise. Ireland manager Joe Kernan faced considerable club versus country conflicts last year, and was also unable to secure any of Dublin’s 2017 All-Ireland winning team. Kernan’s term as Ireland manager also ended after that series defeat, and no word yet on a potential replacement.
The GAA had also secured a new one-year sponsorship deal with EirGrid for the 2017 Tests in Australia, although in keeping with the enduring uncertainty of the series it didn’t gone beyond that.
What was originally proposed for 2018 was that one of the Tests be brought to the US, before the second game was played in Croke Park. This idea fell through, but the AFL had advanced the possibility of being able to find promoters who would be able to underwrite the New York game and cover the costs of the teams.
The other concern, however, would be finding a suitable venue as pitch sizes in standard American field sports are too small for International Rules. Consideration was also given to eventually holding every third series in a neutral country – Dubai was also mentioned.
The AFL’s keenness to bring the series abroad has not been quite matched by the GAA, one of the main issues being financial. The home Tests have up until now been able to generate enough revenue to fund the away trips to Australia, but adding another overseas expedition would be some strain on that.
Since the series was revived in 1998 there have been other setbacks too – the on-pitch violence during the 2006 series resulting in outright cancellation in 2007, while the 2013 series fell easily to Ireland after Australia decided to field a team made up exclusively of indigenous players.
International outlet
Sometimes seen as a slightly biased international outlet for intercounty footballers only, the intercounty hurlers get their chance to travel Down Under this time, the Wild Geese Trophy intended as a long-term promotional component of the game. It will be contested under normal 15-a-side rules, the main event of the two-day sporting and cultural festival in Sydney known for its large Irish population.
Reigning All-Ireland hurling champions Limerick get to travel to Boston the followed week for the Fenway Hurling Classic on November 18th, the 11-a-side tournament in the home of the Boston Red Sox.
Limerick will face Wexford in one semi-final, with Clare playing Cork in the other, before the winners of each face off in the final the same day. Last year’s attendance was over 30,000, and all three games on the day will be broadcast live on TG4, GAAGO, and NESN in the US.
In other Australian-related new, North Melbourne confirmed the signing of rising Sligo footballer Red óg Murphy on a Category B rookie contract, bringing the number of players signed by AFL clubs in the off-season to seven.
Murphy joins the Derry duo of Anton Tohill (Collingwood) and Callum Brown (GWS), with Cork’s Mark Keane (Collingwood), Dublin’s James Madden (Brisbane) and Kerry’s Stefan Okunbor (Geelong) also committing to the AFL for the 2019 season.
It also brings to 14 the number of footballers now contracted to men’s clubs in the AFL, with Carlow senior footballer Jordan Morrissey also reported to be in talks with two clubs.
