The green machine

Ireland 77 (3-17-8) Australia 41 (1-9-8)

He promised his team would concentrate on kicking bread-and-butter three pointers in yesterday’s opening test in the Coca-Cola International Rules Series in Croke Park and they duly delivered.

In a game where the home team produced its highest standard over the last two years and Australia showing a corresponding drop in their level of performance, the margin of victory was the widest in the 25 test games played over the past two decades.

After opening a 23-point lead a in a blistering first 15 minutes, Ireland never looked in trouble. Other than delighting a large Irish support, the game disappointingly failed to entertain as most of the previous clashes have done.

Essentially, that was because Ireland excelled in areas where they had been found wanting in recent times, not only in kicking three-pointers, but also in their passing. And, arguably more important than their scoring accuracy was their aptitude in tackling the Australians, and dodging their challenges. The net effect was that it was the home side who best availed of the physicality allowed in the compromise rules to stymie the visitors’ attempts to win possession. They did so to stunning effect.

Emphasising that his players will be every bit as focused going into the second test next Sunday, despite their big lead, the Irish manger admitted to being very satisfied with the performance.

They were a team “on a mission,” he said, and they had used their good start to consolidate their position. And, when it mattered most in the third quarter, they were able to hold their own with the Australians “before going at them” in the final quarter.

Gary Lyon, in charge of the Australians for the third series, accepted his team had been outclassed and outsmarted. “It was loss and a bad loss,” he said. Insisting that the absence of so many of the AFL All Stars should not be used as an excuse for such a heavy defeat, he admitted the round ball had been a bigger problem for his players than they might have imagined.

“What we have tried to do is get it from a basic level to competent and this is what we have always been able to do. But, today, we went from basic to pathetic,” he said.

With Eoin Brosnan failing a late fitness test and Declan Browne omitted from the official panel of 23, because of having played in the Tipperary county final on Saturday, Ireland quickly settled into a pattern of play which had the Australians in trouble from an early stage. They worked the ball smartly out of defence and, rather unusually, four of their first five attempts at kicking scores produced three-pointers. By the end, they had kicked a total of 17, an interesting statistic when the combined total from the two tests last year was just 20 and 19.

The first of their goals came from Armagh star Steven McDonnell, who was Ireland’s star forward on the tour last year. This time, he would share the honour with three more players with previous experience in the series, Westmeath’s Dessie Dolan, Benny Coulter from Down and Sydney Swans star Tadhg Kennelly. And, over the course of the four quarters, Ciaran McDonald, Padraic Joyce, Tim Kennelly and Mattie Forde would also make significant contributions.

While McGrath declined to highlight individual players - making the valid point that a lot of them had made important contributions at different stages - he did acknowledge that Cork hurler Sean Óg Ó hAilpín had performed commendably for someone who hadn’t played inter-county football for three years. Operating at corner-back, besides the rock-solid Graham Canty, he showed all the value of his considerable experience, namely temperament, consistency and reliability. In short, he more than vindicated the management’s trust in him. His brother Setanta, meanwhile, wasn’t as involved in his role as one of the eight inter-change players.

Leading 28-5 at the end of the first quarter, Ireland continued to master the Australians in all facets of play. Good play from Joe Bergin and Sean Cavanagh at midfield complemented the good work of the defence, where Ciaran McManus played a storming role on the right flank and Tom Kelly also perform excellently in the centre.

Combined with the consistency of the scoring rate at the other end, it was virtually all one-way traffic to the break, when they had increased their lead to 30 points (43-13) - with Mattie Forde contributing a goal shortly after being introduced.

Australia hinted at a recovery when Nathan Brown, their outstanding player who was to finish with 17 points, kicked an excellent goal within a minute of the resumption and, improved play was to yield a total of 18 points over the course of the quarter.

It was 57-31 going into the last quarter, but Ireland maintained their grip and captain, Pádraic Joyce, produced a typically opportunist goal.

Lyon agreed there is a lot of pride at stake for the visitors next Sunday. Saying the referees were “liberal” in their application of the rules, he hinted his players would adopt a tougher approach. However, they surely face a near impossible task in saving the series.

Scorers: Ireland: D. Dolan and S. McDonnell 12 each; M. Forde 10; Joyce 9; T. Kennelly 7; B. Coulter and S. Cavanagh 6 each; C. McManus, T. Kelly, A. Brogan and J. Bergin 3 each; Setanta O hAilpin, P. Galvin and B. McGuigan 1 each. Australia: N. Brown 17; J. Hird 7; L. Ball and J. Bowden 4 each; A. McPhee and B. Johnson 3 each; N. Riewoldt 2; B. Green 1.

IRELAND: S. Cluxton; Sean Og O hAilpin, G. Canty, S.M. Lockhart; B. Cullen, T. Kelly, C. McManus; J. Bergin, S. Cavanagh; T. Kennelly, C. McDonald, P. Galvin; D. Dolan, P. Joyce (capt.), B. Coulter. Inter-change: S. McDonnell, A. Brogan, M. Forde, Setanta O hAilpin, D. Heaney, M. McGrath, B. McGuigan and J. Nallen.

AUSTRALIA: M. Michael; J. Crouch, R. Haddrill, C. Bolton; M. McVeigh, M. Hudghton, B . Rawlings; J. Hird (capt.), N. Riewoldt; L. Ball, N. Dal Santo. N. Brown; A. Embley, C. Bruce, B. Green. Inter-change: D. Solomon, A. Jones, J. Bowden, J. Johnson, J. Corey, M. Braun, B. Kirk; A. McPhee.

Referees: M. Collins (Ireland) and S. McBurney (Australia).

Att: 46,370.