Ireland V Austrailia International Rules Official Thread 2008

[armaghniac]

And sometimes there are Gaelic Games that don't even involve a single Irish player.

Well they have been promoting the GAA in America since the "Great Invasion" of 1887, yet New York cannot field a team without filling it with illegal immigrants.

[Zapatista]

Wasted time and energy and missing opertunities to improve the GAA.

[Zapatista]

the biggest thing these games have to teach us is our players are not as sharp or as fit as they should be.

They seemed to be fine in the Championship which is the show where we see the level of how fit and sharp they should be. I think they're fine.

[ONeill]

Started slowly and was missing the 'biff' but as the game progressed I started to enjoy it. The players seemed to too going by the smiles on Cavanagh and Donaghy during their interviews.

The wing mirrors were evident early on among the Irish players but they started to forget about it as the game wore on. Must be hard for the Irish to naturally release the ball so quickly.

I'd imagine Aussie pride will get the better of them next test and we'll see a few dust-ups.

[thejuice]

zapa, there will never be a meaningful international outlet for gaelic football.. ever. same with afl. what this game does is give gaa players the opportunity to represent their country just like the guys that play most other sports. surely you can live with that?

Here, I'll go round up a few lads from the clubs in Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and London and we'll field a team representing England. And sure we could do the same on the continent, in Australia and good ol' USA. We could have a mini World Cup,

although in the interests of fairness perhaps an Irish team would have to be excluded.  

[Zulu]

zapa, there will never be a meaningful international outlet for gaelic football.. ever.

That, mk, is something that we will never know without actually giving it a genuine and wholehearted effort. We have the global diaspora, and we now have many nationalities besides ourselves playing Gaelic Games, principally football. And sometimes there are Gaelic Games that don't even involve a single Irish player.

Yet, we do nothing to factor those elements in to, or to promote, the internationalisation of our games. Nothing, nada, zilch. No imagination, no effort, no thought, no chance. Instead we demote our Inter-Provincials, with the cream of players, as far down the register as they can go and elevate this mongrel of a game than can never go anywhere else to a position of untouchable pre-eminence. Shameful.

Nonsense, we do a huge amount to promote Gaelic Games internationally but if we want to make the GAA an international sport like rugby or soccer we would need to put massive amounts of money into promotion (money we don't have) and we would need to turn professional which would cause a panic overload on this board if past threads are anything to go by. The inter provincials aren't dying because of the IR, it is dying because no matter what the GAA have tried nobody is too bothered about it. Like other posters I love to know what the hell is the problem with IR? If I was an inter county player I'd love the opportunity of playing against the Aussies in Australia and even if this is only a free trip to Australia for the best players in the country (which I don't believe it is) then that is reason enough to keep it in my book.

[corn02]

Zaptista, it is not a GAA match. It is a hybrid game that is a different sport to Aussie Rules and Galeic Football. I doubt you find rounder very enjoyable, but it is promoted by the GAA, why not go on about that?

Thats part of my point. 

If rounders ever becomes a threat to, or takes away from our other games with the weak excuses which are used to justify this crap I will start a thread on it too.

Fair enough. I diagree but I respect where you are coming from. I find this game not a threat but a way of keeping good relationships, which, in the long run, could help our game.

[AZOffaly]

The biggest lesson I think we can take from these type series is not that we must get more physical or more fit than the Aussies, they are full time pros. There is a limit a team can reach in an amateur scenario which is less than a pro.

The lesson I see is that we are enhancing the physical side of our games, the mental and physical preparation necessary to operate at a high level fitness and focus wise, but we are neglecting the skills of the games.

In our own games last year, we saw any amount of very very bad foot passing, and kicking for scores. I think what this series emphasises is that we have really gone back in that area, apart from a few honourable exceptions.

This is repeated over and over in every inter county game you watch, again, with some notable exceptions like Kerry Galway last year. But there are many 'forwards' playing inter county football who simply cannot be expected to score more than 70% of their chances within 30-40 yards. The Aussies are as good as ourselves at kicking scores, and were last time around as well.

I would love to see the happy balance where our players would be very fit, but not super fit (in an amateur context), but would be able to master the skills. I think what this series reinforces is that our physical levels will never reach the Aussies, but what we have sacrificed skills wise in the modern era is quite stark.

[corn02]

Started slowly and was missing the 'biff' but as the game progressed I started to enjoy it. The players seemed to too going by the smiles on Cavanagh and Donaghy during their interviews.

The wing mirrors were evident early on among the Irish players but they started to forget about it as the game wore on. Must be hard for the Irish to naturally release the ball so quickly.

I'd imagine Aussie pride will get the better of them next test and we'll see a few dust-ups.

Agreed, the biff will be back next week.

[baoithe]

I watched this at work online and I have to say I enjoyed it. I thought after the last series that this game was dead but todays game was well contested and enjoyable to watch. My own personal opinion in respect of the last series held in Ireland was that the refereeing was disgraceful. If they had started handing out regards to beat the band in the first five minutes things would have calmed down. That said, the rule was needed that where a player is sent off he cannot be replaced.

I think the best way to approach this game is to forget that its a compromise between two different sports and just take at face value i.e. if you enjoy what you're watching just accept that. No one is asking you to drop your allegiance to Gaelic Games. Most of us would rather watch a game of hurling or football any day but I dont see the harm in this game at all and I can honestly say I enjoyed it today. My only issue was the level of violence that was employed the last day in Croker - as McGeeney said afterwards, if they wanted a row we could have sent out 25 fellas who'd be well able for it for the skelpings.

Any arguments about costs are hollow as far as I can see as is any notion that as a result of these series our young players are more susceptible to be signed by the aussies.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

zapa, there will never be a meaningful international outlet for gaelic football.. ever.

That, mk, is something that we will never know without actually giving it a genuine and wholehearted effort. We have the global diaspora, and we now have many nationalities besides ourselves playing Gaelic Games, principally football. And sometimes there are Gaelic Games that don't even involve a single Irish player.

Yet, we do nothing to factor those elements in to, or to promote, the internationalisation of our games. Nothing, nada, zilch. No imagination, no effort, no thought, no chance. Instead we demote our Inter-Provincials, with the cream of players, as far down the register as they can go and elevate this mongrel of a game than can never go anywhere else to a position of untouchable pre-eminence. Shameful.

Nonsense, we do a huge amount to promote Gaelic Games internationally but if we want to make the GAA an international sport like rugby or soccer we would need to put massive amounts of money into promotion (money we don't have) and we would need to turn professional which would cause a panic overload on this board if past threads are anything to go by. The inter provincials aren't dying because of the IR, it is dying because no matter what the GAA have tried nobody is too bothered about it. Like other posters I love to know what the hell is the problem with IR? If I was an inter county player I'd love the opportunity of playing against the Aussies in Australia and even if this is only a free trip to Australia for the best players in the country (which I don't believe it is) then that is reason enough to keep it in my book.

English comprehension problem eh? ... "promoting games internationally" is not the same as the "internationalisation" of Gaelic Games. And I certainly don't buy your assertion that professionalism would be an inescapable component of any move towards internationalisation. That sounds like defeatist to me.

Neither am I saying that the Inter-Provincials are dying because of the International Rules. What I'm am saying is that it's an awful pity that not even a fraction of the effort that goes into pushing and promoting the IR goes into the Inter-Pros. Quite the contrary, the GAA are doing their level best to consign the Inter-Pros to history, which is completely wrong and completely contrary to the ethos of the organisation.

The IR may be fine as far as it goes. The problem is that that's not very far.

[ziggysego]

Started slowly and was missing the 'biff' but as the game progressed I started to enjoy it. The players seemed to too going by the smiles on Cavanagh and Donaghy during their interviews.

The wing mirrors were evident early on among the Irish players but they started to forget about it as the game wore on. Must be hard for the Irish to naturally release the ball so quickly.

I'd imagine Aussie pride will get the better of them next test and we'll see a few dust-ups.

Weren't you in class teaching? How'd you manage to see it?

[Jinxy]

the biggest thing these games have to teach us is our players are not as sharp or as fit as they should be. the number of times an irish player was caught in possesion was shocking. dispite higher skill level most are not able to operate at the spped necessary for a game with a genuine tackle. Im thinking abut Canty reilly bradley and even though he had a great game S macdonell who did his best work with the ball out of hand.
Kavanagh and the tyrone boys  seemed to love it and I thought it was interesting that it was mackeever whio was instigating the professional killing of the game towards the end , you never expect such cynicism out of an armagh lad

Speed has nothing to do with it. Lads can't switch off 20 odd years of training just like that. Training which says draw the tackle and then offload, or sidestep the man, or don't dive in or you'll give away a free etc. Lads can't tackle properly, so what. It'll be over in a week and we'll think no more on it for another year. Or preferably we'll think no more on it full stop.

[Zulu]

The biggest lesson I think we can take from these type series is not that we must get more physical or more fit than the Aussies, they are full time pros. There is a limit a team can reach in an amateur scenario which is less than a pro.

The lesson I see is that we are enhancing the physical side of our games, the mental and physical preparation necessary to operate at a high level fitness and focus wise, but we are neglecting the skills of the games.

In our own games last year, we saw any amount of very very bad foot passing, and kicking for scores. I think what this series emphasises is that we have really gone back in that area, apart from a few honourable exceptions.

This is repeated over and over in every inter county game you watch, again, with some notable exceptions like Kerry Galway last year. But there are many 'forwards' playing inter county football who simply cannot be expected to score more than 70% of their chances within 30-40 yards. The Aussies are as good as ourselves at kicking scores, and were last time around as well.

I would love to see the happy balance where our players would be very fit, but not super fit (in an amateur context), but would be able to master the skills. I think what this series reinforces is that our physical levels will never reach the Aussies, but what we have sacrificed skills wise in the modern era is quite stark.

Couldn't agree more AZ, this is what I posted immediately after the game on the 'Score 1' thread..."the compromise rules game again highlighted the poor footwork, movement, thinking and worst of all shooting of our lads". I should have included foot passing and control of the ball, I also pointed this out after the last series but many on here disagreed, believing that our poor technique was a consequence of the Aussies overly physical approach, it is not. The reality is this game punishes poor technique, slow play and poor support running more than our own game. As a coach I'm fascinated by the way we play IR as opposed to the Aussies and I really believe that IR is underlining the fact that we have only scratched at the surface of what teams are capable of in football. The fact of the matter as far as I'm concerned is we don't play football particularly well and this is being shown up in the IR series.

[Zapatista]

It high lights nothing. It is a different game against players from a different game. You can't compare a sprinter with a cyclist and say that it shows the cyclist needs to improve on is breathing or that the sprinter needs to improve on stamina. You compare sprinters with sprinters and cyclists with cyclists.