The International Rules Series is a senior men's competition played under the laws of international rules football, a hybrid sport combining elements of Gaelic football and Australian rules football. The series is overseen by the two sports' governing bodies, the Gaelic Athletic Association and Australian Football League. This page lists results of each test match in the series. Click on the a series year for a more detailed recording of results.
Though the first Australian Football World Tour took place in 1967, it wasn't until 1984 that the first organised series sanctioned by the two governing bodies occurred. The four series that took place from 1984 to 1990 featured three test matches each, with the winning nation being the one to secure at least two victories. Since 1998 each series has been played over two matches, with the winning nation being the one to score the highest amount on aggregate over the two tests. This excludes the 2014 and 2015 series, which were both one-off matches.
Scores are given in the form [goals] [overs] [behinds] ([points]). A goal equals 6 points, an over 3, and a behind 1. So 2.9.7 (46) means 2 goals, 9 overs and 7 behinds; 2(6) + 9(3) + 7(1) = 12 + 27 + 7 = 46 points in total.
| Played | Won by Ireland |
Won by Australia |
Drawn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Tests | 42 | 21 (50%) | 19 (45.2%) | 2 (4.8%) |
| Tests in Australia | 21 | 12 (57.1%) | 8 (38.1%) | 1 (4.8%) |
| Tests in Ireland | 21 | 9 (42.9%) | 11 (52.4%) | 1 (4.8%) |
| All series | 20 | 10 (50%) | 10 (50%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Series in Australia | 10 | 6 (60%) | 4 (40%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Series in Ireland | 10 | 4 (40%) | 6 (60%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| As of 1 January 2019 | ||||
An under-17 boys series was contested by the nations until it was abandoned in 2006, and a solitary women's series was played in Ireland in 2006.
An under-17 boys series is believed to been played yearly since 1996, though results for only these three tours are known.[1]
| Year | Test | Location | Date | Home nation | Score | Away nation | Series winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1 | Galway | April | Ireland | ? | Australia | Ireland | [2] |
| 2 | Dublin | 17 April | Ireland | 31–7 | Australia | [2] | ||
| 3 | Cork | 21 April | Ireland | 30–65 | Australia | [3] | ||
| 2005 | 1 | Crossmaglen | April | Ireland | 73–32 | Australia | Ireland | [4] |
| 2 | Dublin | April | Ireland | 44–56 | Australia | [4] | ||
| 3 | Killarney | April | Ireland | 39–31 | Australia | [4] | ||
| 2006 | 1 | Melbourne | April | Australia | 39–39 | Ireland | Australia | [5] |
| 2 | Adelaide | April | Australia | 35–35 | Ireland | [5] | ||
| 3 | Perth | April | Australia | 45–30 | Ireland | [6] |
Irish player of the series: Ray Cullivan (2005) & Kevin Nolan (2006)[4]
Australian player of the series: Joel Selwood (2005) & Bryce Gibbs (2006)[6]
| Year | Test | Location | Date | Home nation | Home score | Away nation | Away score | Series winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1 | Cavan | 31 October | Ireland | 6.26.16 (134) | Australia | 1.2.3 (15) | Ireland |
| 2 | Dublin | 4 November | Ireland | 3.5.6 (39) | Australia | 0.4.6 (18) |