By Paul Doyle
04/10/01: The Ireland international rules squad leave Dublin for Melbourne this Saturday, and Irish manager Brian McEniff today told
ireland.com
how the hurt of last year’s home defeat by Australia will be spurring him on over the coming weeks.
"I’m still very sore about that" he said "I’m an adult, but I’ll tell you it took me some four months to get over our defeat."
He wouldn’t go so far as to say he is bitter and is magnanimous enough to say "I’m not making excuses, the Aussies were the better team on the day", but he is quick to point out that "the draws in the Leinster Final, All-Ireland semi-finals, and the All-Ireland final meant we found ourselves going into the last game against Austrailia with only 15 of the 25 from the previous test."
All of which means the Donegalman feels he’s got some unfinished business with Dermott Brereton, the man who masterminded last year’s Aussie victory in Dublin. Alas, Brereton has been replaced, and McEniff admits to being disappointed at not having the chance to settle that particular score.
"I would have loved to cross swords with him again, that would have been a huge motivation in itself," he said As for their new guy, well, I don’t know much about him, but I believe he’s hoping to land a job with one of their big clubs so he’ll certainly have a point to prove against us."
That new guy is Gary Lyon, and his squad selection suggests he’ll be aiming to over-power the visitors.
"I’m expecting the games to be physical because I think they’ve gone for bigger players this time," says McEniff, "Looking at their profiles, the players would seem to be at least an inch or two bigger than the ones that came over to Dublin last year."
The size of their opponents is not the only challenge awaiting the Irish players.
"The compromise rules is essentially the Australian game but with a round ball," said McEniff, "Our players will have to cope with the mark, the tackle, the box pass, etc."
"On top of that, their game is an 80 minute game during which you play for about 60 minutes. Our game, on the other hand, is a 70 minute game where you only play for about 30 plus minutes, so we’ll actually in essence be playing two games. That will test not only our physical fitness level, but also the ability of a Gaelic footballer to concentrate for that length of time."
Another difference between Gaelic football and the international rules series is that the substitution rule is such that players may come on and off several times in a match:
"They’ll have to get used to the mindset where they go out and then come back in. Normally a player sags when he’s taken off because he thinks it means he hasn’t been playing well, but that can’t be the case this time. And whether you start the match or come in as a reserve, you have to come up to the pace immediately because it’s a very fast-moving game. There’s no such thing as a settling in period."
Ireland have named a 27-man squad for the two-match series, which will begin in Melbourne next Friday, and McEniff is under no illusions as to the size of the task ahead.
"It’s very rare that Australia are beaten at any sport at home, but, having said that, we have a good record on their soil which puts extra pressure on us to do well again. But we’ve brough in some young lads who’ll freshen things up, and the prospect of playing in the MCG is exciting for us all."