Harry Beitzel, an Australian sports broadcaster and media personality kicked the idea off in 1967. An Australian football side would come to Ireland to play GAA county sides Meath and Mayo. The Aussies, nicknamed the Galahs, won both games by healthy margins and Beitzel had started something which lasts, in an altered form anyway, to this very day. The present International Rules Series has been running annually in its current form since 1998. Each year an Australian Football Side and a side chosen by the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) go head to head in a game of hybrid football. Elements from both classes of game are taken into account such as the rectangular pitch (GAA) and four 18-minute quarters (AFL). For anyone who hasn’t seen the game played I’d advise you check out the following video:
So what does this have to do with your Sydney challenge? Well, as you may have read, we were tasked with creating a new game and what I’ve created is ‘Internationals Rule’. The game is quite simple; take two pints of Guinness (marking the 250th anniversary and their sponsorship of the GAA), add two bottles of Aussie ale, one beer mat and two straws and what do you get?
An international rules goal. You set that up in the formation show below and roll a coin at it. Rolling the coin between the pints of Guinness grabs you 3 points, on either side between the Aussie ales and the pints, 1 point. You get four shots in total (corresponding to the four quarters played in International Rules), trying to amass as many points as you can. Shoot wide however and you forfeit your remaining shots.
Secret goal: I know what your thinking, “Why the straws?”. Ah, that’s a secret 6 points, do if you dare, score. Take a peanut and place it on the edge of the table, flick it at the posts and if you get it through (your mates will obviously have to judge), then you’ve got the 6. I managed to do it with a one cent coin and a peanut so give it a go folks. I obviously don’t endorse throwing peanuts around your local bar so make sure to pick up any strays. Note: you don’t have to use curly straws, they were all they had in the local shop and may in fact deflect almost certain points due to their curly nature.
Thanks to my friends (both online and off), relatives and commenters who helped me complete the challenge. On to next week!
3 replies on “Awesome Tour of Sydney – Internationals Rule”
Great idea – don’t forget that Meath went down under the following year in 1968 and beat them in return – it was the sheer competitiveness of the contests that inspired the series as an ongoing event.
@Gav: The Royals returned the favour alright. 🙂 It’s a great series. Just a pity it won’t be running this year.
my initial idea was very, very similar to this!! I spent a few hours flicking peanuts before getting sick of it and gobbling it up..Great minds think alike 🙂