International rules football

Rules

The rules are designed to provide a compromise or combine between those of the two codes, with Gaelic football players being advantaged by the use of a round ball and a rectangular field measured about 160 yards long by 98 yards wide (Australian rules uses an oval ball and field), while the Australian rules football players benefit from the opportunity to tackle by grabbing between the shoulders and thighs and pulling to the ground, something banned in Gaelic football. The game also introduces the concept of the mark, from Australian rules football, with a free kick awarded for a ball caught from a kick of over 15 metres, where the kick must be in the forward direction if originating from a teammate.

A player must bounce, solo or touch the ball on the ground once every 10 metres or six steps. A maximum of two bounces per possession are allowed, while players can solo the ball as often as they wish on a possession. Unlike in Gaelic football, the ball may be lifted directly off the ground, without putting a foot underneath it first. Players however cannot scoop the ball off the ground to a team-mate, nor pick up the ball if they are on their knees or on the ground. If a foul is committed, a free kick will be awarded, referees (called umpires in Australian Rules) can give the fouled player advantage to play on at their discretion.

The game uses two large posts usually sets 6.5 metres apart, and connect 2.5 metres above the ground by a crossbar with goal net that could extend behind the goalposts and attached to the crossbar and lower goalposts, as in Gaelic football. A further 6.5 metres apart on either side of those and did not connected by a crossbar are 2 small post, known as behind post, as in Australian rules football.

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). Inter-county Gaelic football matches go on for 70 minutes, divided into two halves, and Australian rules matches consists of four 20 minutes quarters of game time, although with the addition of stoppage time, most quarters actually last between 25 and 30 minutes.

As in Gaelic football, teams consist of fifteen players, including a goalkeeper, whereas eighteen are used in Australian rules (with no keeper).

2006 rule changes

A number of rule changes were introduced before the 2006 International Rules Series:

2008 rule changes

2014 rule changes

Women's

While ladies' Gaelic football has been growing almost exponentially since the 1970s, Women's Australian rules football has far fewer players, though numbers have grown strongly since the 1990s. In early 2006, representatives of the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association 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 2006 Women's Series has been the only series to take place.

Juniors

Among the first schoolboys' international tests was that played in Melbourne in 1983, when a Victorian under-17 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.

An official junior series at Under-17 level has been played in alternate nations since the early 2000s. Ireland completed a hat-trick of series wins from 2003–2005 before Australia won the junior series for 2006. The junior series was largely instituted by both leagues as a means to identify emerging talent. It has since been abandoned.

Australian player of the series: Joel Selwood
Irish player of the series: Ray Cullivan

Irish player of the series: Kevin Nolan
Australian player of the series: Bryce Gibbs

Amateurs

The Australian Amateur Football Council has sent an amateur Under-23 All-Australian team to Ireland in both 2005 and 2008. The Australian amateur team wore a different jersey to the AFL representative side, dark green and gold, with a kangaroo emblem. Recently, the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) has sent a squad of players sourced from the top six divisions of its competition to tour Ireland and play various clubs and representative teams.

Masters

International rules also has a masters category with several competitions. There is also a Masters International Rules Series which follows the format of the senior men's series and involves many retired Australian Rules and Gaelic Football players.

International rules football around the world

International rules is played in various locations throughout North America and the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand between fledgling Australian rules football and Gaelic football clubs.

In 2006, an exhibition match between South African youth teams and an Indigenous Australian touring side composed of players from the Clontarf Foundation, led by Sydney's Adam Goodes, was held at Potchefstroom.

The University of Birmingham, UK, holds an annual International Rules match between its Australian Rules football team and its Gaelic Football team, with the 2013 edition won by the Australian Rules team 56–55, before a crowd of over 400 students.

In the International Rules Series, the most well-known International Rules event, Ireland currently leads Australia 10-9 in series wins, 21-17 in Tests won (with two draws) and 2,268 to 2,121 in total points scored. They also won the most recent event 56-52 in a one-off test at Croke Park in Dublin.