The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (selected by the Gaelic Athletic Association). The series is played twice every three years in October and November after the completion of the AFL Grand Final and the All-Ireland Football Final which are both traditionally played in late September. The matches are played using a set of compromise rules decided upon by both the two governing bodies; known formally as International rules football. While the International Rules Series matches use some rules from Australian rules football, the field, ball and uniforms of both teams are all from Gaelic football.
The two teams contest a trophy, which in 2004 was named the Cormac McAnallen Cup—after the Tyrone team captain Cormac McAnallen, whose death that year from a heart condition came after he had represented Ireland in the previous three series.
The concept for the series originates from the Australian Football World Tour, which took place in 1967. The first series took place in Ireland in 1984 under a three match format, whereby the team accumulating the most wins from the series gained victory. Following poor Australian crowds and relative lack of interest in 1990, the series was revived in 1998 under a two match aggregate points format.
The series alternates host countries each appropriate year between Ireland and Australia. Since the commencement of the modern era series in 1998, the average attendance up to the conclusion of the 2010 series was 47,160. Only once has any test sold out in Australia, in Perth in 2003. The first entire series to sell out was in Ireland in 2006 when a combined record crowd of 112,127 was set, as well as the largest international sports fixture at Croke Park for the second test.
The tests were indefinitely postponed by the GAA in 2007 following the 2006 Series, citing a series of violent onfield incidents. However, the series resumed in October 2008 in Australia, after the GAA and AFL reached collective agreement on a revised set of rules. It has since been held in 2010 in Ireland and in 2011 in Australia.
Read more about International Rules Series: All-time Standings, Series Results, Venues, Sponsorship, Criticisms, Future of The Series
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