Novel ideas from Rules creator

THE man who inspired the concept of GAA/Australian Rules hybrid game is waging a campaign to continue with the International Rules Series.

Harry Beitzel is hopeful that the two organisations will not abandon the experiment when they meet in early January to review this year’s tour, which ended with violent outbursts in the deciding test at Croke Park.

In the event of a positive outcome, he has come up with some novel suggestions. One is that suspensions imposed should apply to both GAA and AFL “elite” games. Another is that Irish players should be paid.

Beitzel, who is also compiling a history of the game, was struck by the similarities between Gaelic football and Australian Rules when he watched the 1966 All-Ireland between Galway and Meath.

“My dream back then was as clear as day. I felt our elite Aussie Rules footballers could adapt to and play your Gaelic game. It became the ‘impossible dream’ — the Mount Everest of all football challenges,” he explained.

Having persuaded the GAA to “take him seriously,” a challenge game was set up against Meath (then All-Ireland champions) the following year.

The game was played in Croke Park at the end of October and the Australian team (known as “the Gallahs”) were victorious.

“We rewrote the Gaelic football records,” he added.

Now, he admits to being deeply concerned about the series being ended because of what happened in Croke Park three weeks ago, but it hasn’t stopped him from starting a campaign to save the game.

“As I write this plea, reading some of the comments it seems our two great fun loving peoples are now at each others throats. I can’t believe it. Surely to any thinking fan we need each other to develop our international tests and keep our games competitive against the world-wide football codes of soccer, rugby and rugby League.

“Forty years back when this ‘dream’ started, no self-respecting GAA supporter would dare go to Lansdowne Road and watch that banned (under GAA Rule 27), foreign game of rugby. Now they will play on Croke Park while enticing your elite Gaelic youth footballers to their game with financial incentives. And how many GAA supporters went to see Ireland beat South Africa last week? “This suggests you have grown up as a sports nation. But, where is Gaelic football going if we rob our elite senior and junior players of the honour of representing their country at the international level?” He would like to see referees stamp their authority on illegal tackles, including what he describes as “the vicious slinging/dumping” of an opponent.

“Any suspensions in a test game should mean automatic suspension from future series and the game penalty should count in the next AFL/All Ireland elite games,” he writes, adding: “there is enough money from the gates, tv/radio rights and sponsorship to pay the GAA players.”