Overjoyed by events down under

THANKFULLY, the first test in the International Rules Series between Ireland and Australia worked a treat.

In fact, from a performance and result viewpoint it couldn’t have been better. I really enjoyed the game which was played at a furious pace and in a very good spirit. A crowd of 35,000 was only a few thousand short of capacity, in the soon-to-be-redeveloped Subiaco Oval in the lovely city of Perth. With only one point separating the sides, it is now well teed up for the decisive game in the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on Friday. Incidentally, the Telstra Dome is to be re-named the Etihad Dome next year, as the airline, one of the sponsors of the All-Ireland hurling championship have won the naming rights for the Victorian stadium.

Firstly, hats off to the AFL. They went out of their way to make their visitors welcome and get across the message that the historic links between Ireland and Australia needed to be preserved and strengthened through the series.