INTERNATIONAL RULES/First Test: Keith Duggan talks to Ireland manager John O'Keeffe about his passion for - and belief in - a series he feels has benefited Gaelic football.

A decent crowd showed up in Parnell Park to see the Australians on Wednesday. It was a blustery, traditional October afternoon, with the residential streets around the north Dublin citadel flush with leaves. Many people were still searching for parking after the first quarter began, but they weren't too concerned. They were just there for a look.

Sixteen years have passed since the first Compromise Rules series and the Australians remain a novelty. John O'Keeffe finished a long and impeccable Kerry career the year that communications across the hemispheres led to a brokering of the International Rules series. His memories of those games are of a raw and dynamic hybrid seriously marred by naked violence. So, in 1998, when Colm O'Rourke came to talk to him about taking charge of the physical preparation of the Irish team ahead of the revival experiment, O'Keeffe had ambivalent feelings.

"I was always very keen on the idea behind the whole thing, as we are isolated here in terms of our sport. I always thought, yeah, why not give it an international dimension and show off the likes of Padhraic Joyce, or Seamus Moynihan and Kieran McGeeney, athletes with the potential to excel in a variety of sports.

"But in 1998, I wasn't sure about how successful it was going to be. The violence and thuggery that had been such a feature before had to go. If that recurred in '98, it would have spelled an end for the series. But the success of that series really established the game. I think the Australians have really contributed an awful lot in making it a more attractive game because the skill level in their style is now incredibly high."

O'Keeffe has just watched the Australians demolish a decent Dublin selection by the kind of cricket score you could expect if the Aussies played, well, Ireland. They are magnificent athletes, chiselled and disciplined and eager, with wonderfully quick hands.

A spectacular leap by one of the visitors, where his feet is up around the neck of an unfortunate home defender, temporarily stuns everybody. The Australian gets the kind of hang-time that Michael Jordan drew such rave notices for and cleanly catches the football.

The Australian approach to this experimental sport embodies the stereotypical qualities of their take on life. They are brash and enthusiastic and brave and honest. They have 100 per cent conviction in what they are about. They are not surprised to be winning handsomely.

"I think that there has been a definite evolution in the way the Australians have come to regard this game," says O'Keeffe. "Traditionally, they would have felt that they were physically more powerful than us and were inclined to try to intimidate us that way. But since the thing started again, they have realised that the game is primarily about the ball and about scoring.

"That has been reflected in the type of players they are selecting, with very quick and agile, skilful ball players featuring more prominently than in earlier tours. You could see it out there, how comfortable they all looked, and they will put us to the pin of our collar in Croke Park."

O'Keeffe's involvement with O'Rourke carried through Brian McEniff's period in charge and he has had plenty of time to draw his own philosophy on the concept of Rules prior to taking charge outright.

An invaluable element of Páidí Ó Sé's Kerry management team, O'Keeffe is a veritable academic on physical fitness. He readily admits, however, that he has immersed himself in the combined tasks of management since the All-Ireland final ended. His preparation is guided by one core principle; that the Irish players should stay true to the skills of Gaelic football in order to succeed.

Which is not to say he feels that the Irish have an advantage, despite what sceptics maintain.

"Obviously, the big thing that we have is the round ball. I can't see that ever changing. In order to play a series using the oval ball, you'd have to take the best Irish players, go away and dedicate a full six months in learning how to use that ball. It just isn't practical. It would be the equivalent of asking the Aussies to pick up hurleys and play the Irish in hurling. Because kicking with the oval ball is a very distinct skill. So we have an advantage with the round ball, yeah.

"But I think the most difficult thing for the Irish to come to terms with is the tackle, which is a strong feature of the International Rules format. We deal with it okay, but there is more to the tackle than meets the eye. You have to be clever about how you actually tackle these boys. I actually think that the benefits of learning about the tackle are immense for our players when it comes to playing Gaelic. Because you should play football with your head up anyway, instead of running head-long into tackles. Move the ball before the tackle, that is what the Australians do brilliantly."

The perfectionist in O'Keeffe and his natural enthusiasm for sport has led to a crash-course in the preparations the visiting players undertake prior to and during the normal AFL season. Unsurprisingly, their regime is much more physical and demanding than ours.

"And yet experience shows that the Irish often finish quite strongly in the fourth quarter," he notes. "The reason for this is that we are probably more economical with the ball. We use the foot-pass whereas the

Australians will run in twos and threes, fist-passing the ball up the field, which can take it out of you."

His first experience of the Australian Rules game was in 1981 when a touring Kerry team took on the Adelaide Swans, allocating a half to each game. The first 30 minutes was pure show-time Kerry, with the Kingdom doing to the Aussies what they did to all Irish counties in the summer. Then came the changeover.

"I don't think we got a single score," O Keeffe says. "But it didn't matter because we were so far up in the first half. Ah, it was an enjoyable experience, but judging the flight of the oval ball was really hard and the bounce was crazy. I think it actually finished as a draw, so everyone was happy."

The recent trend of the Rules series is for the visiting team to win, with 1998's Ireland win the sole exception. It is generally recognised that the touring party has an opportunity to bond and develop a thorough squad mentality, while the home experience is more disjointed. The 2000 experience, when Ireland fell flat, was particularly frustrating and disjointed for the management, with players attempting to fulfil club duties of the eve of a Test series.

O'Keeffe has gone to great pains to ensure there is no repeat of that and this year's squad has been together since Thursday.

The panel is greatly changed from that which stormed Australia last year, but that is not something that greatly worries him.

"Turnover is not a bad thing. Obviously we no longer have players like Anthony Tohill, Peter Canavan and Ciarán Whelan, who gave incredible service to the Rules. But I think that after so many seasons the enthusiasm can wane because they are all aware of the incredible physical toll this series reaps. For the new players coming in, the opportunity to represent Ireland is something that is tremendously important to them and there is a definite freshness there. I am just hopeful now that we can do well -

I am anticipating a very fast and exciting series."

Four years in and O'Keeffe can envisage a solid future for the International Rules. Although he missed out on the opportunity of playing it himself, he knows from training that the game is exceptionally satisfying.

"The continuity is what draws the players," he says. "There are virtually no hold ups and it is all about sharpness."

He argues that the style of the Rules game has already been considerably refined from 1998 and is unrecognisable from the kind of Mad Max extremes that characterised the 1980s experiment. The international honour afforded to players from both countries and the success of the games to date has given the experiment a firm foothold. And, of course, the longer this revival runs the firmer its place in the sporting calendar.

"I can definitely see the game advancing over the next few series. I think people enjoy it, they are supporting it in great numbers as it is exciting to watch. And it definitely enhances our game. We have so much we can learn from the Australians.

"I think if you look at players like Graham Canty and Eamon O'Hara, they gave tremendous championship performances this year partly

because of the confidence they gained playing International Rules last autumn."

For O'Keeffe, this weekend provides him with a chance to fly solo in management terms and it is, he agrees, something he cherishes.

"I suppose it just takes you over. It's just a great honour to get this position and I am really looking forward to it now."