Mulvihill’s Rules of engagement
The Director-General has been involved from the beginning, through good times and bad, always a supporter of the bold concept, nursed through its embryonic stage by former Meath great Peter McDermott.
The Australians have always been supportive but it took them longer to recognise the value of the experiment. Their willingness to agree a 10-year extension to the series after last year’s tour indicates how wholeheartedly supportive they are now.
It mirrors the commitment of their players - many of them among the AFL’s top earners - and how much they value the honour of representing their country.
Interest in the series here is indicated by the amount of tickets sold in advance, with Mulvihill pointing out they had been receiving queries since the All-Ireland finals were decided.
“That shows there is a market for this game and a market for the series - which is different from our game and different from any other game played in Ireland,” he said.
“It’s a reflection on the whole Irish sporting scene that there isn’t a great international dimension to the extent that there is in other countries. We are helping to fill part of the void in that regard and we are getting an audience for our games - particularly in Dublin - which doesn’t even come to our own games. That makes it all worthwhile and we are hoping a fair proportion of the young people who come to see the games over the next two Sundays will come back to see Gaelic games being played here over the next 12 months.”
Without questioning the current management, Mr Mulvihill accepts that without keeping continuity in the management structure, Irish panels will change from series to series.
“While the Australians have given more continuity to their management, we took a conscious decision a number of years ago that we would spread the honour around. It means you don’t have the continuity and that level of experience and as a result you have more changes in personnel than you might like and might be advisable,” he explained.
“That’s inevitable where you have people coming in who have their own view of the style of game they want and the style of players they want. Last year we had a very experimental team going to Australia, not entirely due to the decisions of the team management at the time but as much dictated by injuries and the course of events.
“I felt that they performed well and they would form the basis of Irish teams going forward for several years. But we are back to square one and we have an awful lot of new players this year. That’s a reflection of the way we are doing things. It’s different and it doesn’t give us that continuity that you might have in other circumstances.”
With the physicality of the game being a live issue at separate briefings with the respective managers earlier in the week, the GAA leadership will be insisting that the players adhere to the agreed code of conduct.
Saying that they always have to be vigilant, Mr Mulvihill accepts that since the beginning (instanced by thuggery in the very first test in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 1984) there had been many instances where the level of commitment and play had gone over “what could be considered fair play”.
“Those in charge of the series have always to be aware that it’s a very, very strong impact game. The players play at tremendous speed, there is very little time for rest in the game, so inevitably there are going to be a lot of strong challenges. By its rules it’s a very physical game, far more physical than our own game. It’s a factor we have to take into account at all times.
“We set certain standards for our own players. We expect them to live up to those standards. We expect the games themselves to live up to those standards and it’s up to us to see that that’s implemented.”
With a few notable exceptions - most recently last year - the visiting team invariably comes out on top, clearly benefiting from travelling and living together for the tour.
Another trend is that they always fare better in the second game.
“One of the things I have always felt over the years is that when we were the home team, we didn’t put sufficient emphasis on the first game, which is hugely important,” Mulvihill added.
“Where we have so many new players it’s really putting it up to us (this year), but it’s a great opportunity to get off to a good start.”
The starting times for the two tests in Croke Park were brought forward an hour to facilitate television coverage in Australia.
“It means they have the game starting before midnight at home which is very important in terms of holding an audience in Australia.”
