# 2008 International Rules Series

The 2008 International Rules Series was the 14th annual International Rules Series and was played between Ireland and Australia.
After the 2007 series was cancelled by the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Australian Football League and the GAA agreed in 2008 to resume the series.
The matches were played in Australia – 24 October in Perth, Western Australia and 31 October in Melbourne (after the AFL Grand Final and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship).
Ireland won by five points on aggregate after recording victories in both tests.

## Rule changes

* Maximum of 14 interchanges per quarter.
* Teams are allowed only four consecutive hand passes (ball must then be kicked).
* Match time reduced from 20 to 18 minutes per quarter (with stoppage time for breaks in play).
* Goalkeeper can no longer kick the ball to himself from the kick-out.
* Suspensions may carry over the GAA and AFL matches if The Match Review Panel see fit.
* A dangerous "slinging" tackle will be an automatic red card.
* A shirtfront endangering the head will result in a red card.
* Physical intimidation can result in a yellow card.
* One-handed tackles result in a free kick.
* An independent referee can cite players for reportable offenses from the stands.
* Yellow cards sin bin reduced to 10 minutes.

## Squads

| Australia | Australia | Australia | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland |
| Name | Team | Position | Name | Team | Position |
| Nathan Bock | Adelaide | | Seán Boylan | Meath | Coach |
| Matthew Boyd | Western Bulldogs | | Seán Cavanagh | Tyrone | Captain |
| Jared Brennan | Brisbane Lions | | Graham Canty | Cork | Vice-captain |
| Campbell Brown | Hawthorn | Vice-captain | David Gallagher | Meath | |
| Shaun Burgoyne | Port Adelaide | | Colm Begley | Laois/Brisbane Lions | |
| Matt Campbell | North Melbourne | | Paddy Bradley | Derry | |
| Ryan Crowley | Fremantle | | Kevin Reilly | Meath | |
| Michael Firrito | North Melbourne | | Benny Coulter | Down | |
| Nathan Foley | Richmond | | Bryan Cullen | Dublin | |
| Brent Harvey | North Melbourne | Captain | Kieran Donaghy | Kerry | |
| Roger Hayden | Fremantle | | Leighton Glynn | Wicklow | |
| Leigh Montagna | St Kilda | | Finian Hanley | Galway | |
| Daniel Motlop | Port Adelaide | | John Keane | Westmeath | |
| Marc Murphy | Carlton | | Aaron Kernan | Armagh | |
| Michael Osborne | Hawthorn | | Ciarán Lyng | Wexford | |
| Scott Pendlebury | Collingwood | | Steven McDonnell | Armagh | |
| Drew Petrie | North Melbourne | | Enda McGinley | Tyrone | |
| David Rodan | Port Adelaide | | Ciarán McKeever | Armagh | |
| Max Rooke | Geelong | | Joe McMahon | Tyrone | |
| Brad Sewell | Hawthorn | | Justin McMahon | Tyrone | |
| Kade Simpson | Carlton | | Michael Meehan | Galway | |
| Adam Selwood | West Coast | Vice-captain | John Miskella | Cork | |
| Dale Thomas | Collingwood | | Aidan O'Mahony | Kerry | |
| Scott Thompson | Adelaide | | Pearse O'Neill | Cork | |
| Daniel Wells | North Melbourne | | Tom Parsons | Mayo | |
| Mick Malthouse | Collingwood | Coach | Killian Young | Kerry | |
| | | | Paul Finlay | Monaghan | |
| | | | Martin McGrath | Fermanagh | |
| | | | Aidan Carr | Down | On Standby |
| | | | Rónán Clarke | Armagh | On Standby |
| | | | Conor Gormley | Tyrone | On Standby |
| | | | Kevin McCloy | Derry | On Standby |
Notes:
* Main sources for squads: BBC Sport Online and Hogan Stand.
* Kerry's Tommy Walsh was named on the original Irish squad, but had to withdraw due to club commitments with Kerins O'Rahilly's. He was replaced by Paul Finlay.
* Dublin's Bernard Brogan was named on the Irish original squad, but had to withdraw due to club commitments with St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh. He was replaced by Martin McGrath.
* The match-day squad for both teams was limited to 24 players each. Thus Australia (who had a 25 man squad) had to drop one player for each test and Ireland (who had a 27 man squad) had to drop three players.
Ireland manager Boylan was criticised for including David Gallagher in his squad, as he was not then playing inter-county football.

### Irish management team

* Coach – Seán Boylan
* Selectors:
** Anthony Tohill
** Hugh Kenny
** Eoin Liston
* Runner – Seán Marty Lockhart
* Backroom team:
** Trevor Brennan (fitness & tackling)
** Mike McGurn (fitness & tackling)
* Tour Manager – Seán Walsh
* Assistant Tour Manager – Tommy Kilcoyne
* Team doctor – Owen Clarke
* Physiotherapist – Frank Foley
* Masseur – Martin Regan
* Kit manager – Owen Lynch
* Waterboys – Ciaran Boylan and Pauric Gallagher
Notes:
* Main sources: Hogan Stand

### Refereeing team

* Main referees – Pat McEnaney (Ireland) and Stephen McBurney (Australia)
* Standby referees / linesmen – David Coldrick (Ireland) and Brett Rosebury (Australia)
* Umpires – Gearóid Ó Conámha & John Bannon (Ireland) and Steven Axon & Peter Nastasi (Australia)
* Video match referee – Ian Curlewis (South Africa)
Notes:
* Main source: Hogan Stand

## Matches
### First test

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Australia | 0.0.1 | 0.5.4 | 0.7.7 | 0.12.8 | 0.12.8 (44) |
| Ireland | 0.1.6 | 1.2.7 | 3.5.8 | 3.6.9 | 3.6.9 (45) |
| Ireland won by 1 point ||||||
| Date | Friday 24 October 2008 |
| Scoring (AUS) | Goals: Nil Overs: Marc Murphy 4, Matt Campbell 2, Scott Thompson 2, Leigh Montagna, Brent Harvey, Michael Osborne, David Rodan |
| Scoring (IRL) | Goals: Seán Cavanagh, Leighton Glynn, Steven McDonnell Overs: Seán Cavanagh 2, Paddy Bradley, Leighton Glynn, Kieran Donaghy, Ciarán Lyng |
| Best | AUS: Murphy, Selwood, Harvey, Simpson, Thomas, Osborne IRL: Glynn, Cavanagh, Gallagher, Joe McMahon, McKeever, Canty, Hanley |
| Reports | Campbell Brown (Australia) – yellow card (10-minute sin bin) |
| Injuries | None |
| Venue | Subiaco Oval, Perth, Australia |
| Attendance | 35,153 |
| Umpires | Steve McBurney (Australia) Pat McEnaney (Ireland) |
| Match stats ||
| AFL.com Match overview AFL.com Match report RTÉ Match report Hogan Stand report ||

### Second test

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Australia | 0.4.3 | 0.5.5 | 1.6.9 | 3.8.11 | 3.8.11 (53) |
| Ireland | 0.3.3 | 2.6.6 | 3.8.8 | 4.8.9 | 4.8.9 (57) |
| Ireland won by 4 points ||||||
| Date | Friday 31 October 2008 |
| Scoring (AUS) | Goals: Shaun Burgoyne, Marc Murphy, Drew Petrie Overs: Drew Petrie 2, Daniel Wells 2, Jared Brennan, Campbell Brown, Shaun Burgoyne, Michael Osborne |
| Scoring (IRL) | Goals: Benny Coulter 2, Kieran Donaghy, Enda McGinley Overs: Seán Cavanagh 4, Paddy Bradley, Benny Coulter, Kieran Donaghy, Paul Finlay |
| Best | AUS: Crowley, Simpson, Boyd, Harvey, Petrie IRL: Canty, Coulter, Cavanagh, Glynn, Bradley |
| Reports | None |
| Injuries | None |
| Venue | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia |
| Attendance | 42,823 |
| Umpires | Steve McBurney (Australia) Pat McEnaney (Ireland) |
| Match stats ||
| AFL.com Match overview AFL.com Match report RTÉ Match report ||