INTERNATIONAL RULES AUSTRALIA v IRELAND: AN OLD tradition has been maintained on this year's international rules trip: that of showcasing players from traditionally less successful counties. As far back as the 1980s, there was no shortage of such players in the early international series.

Leitrim's Mickey Martin started for Ireland in the inaugural year, 1984, and was joined by players such as Carlow's Thomas O'Dwyer, Spike Fagan from Westmeath (before the county had achieved the prominence of recent years) and the Wicklow pair Pat O'Byrne and, later, Kevin O'Brien, the county's only All Star and the one player to span the old and revived eras.

Appropriately, it is another footballer from the county, Leighton Glynn, who carries the banner this time. He ended the first Test in Perth as many people's man of the match, having been one of Ireland's top five ball-handlers and, with 10 points, the team's second-highest scorer.

His goal in the 24th minute was a good example of how well he's adapted to the international game, as he showed the presence of mind to run the mark from Joe McMahon's well-placed kick-pass.

"Joe McMahon popped in a quick ball," he recalls. "It was something we'd been working on in training. It opened up one-on-one and the keeper made it a bit easy, kind of jumped out, and I put it in the corner.

"I thought about nothing else but the goal, because a few of the senior players talked about how if you get that chance to get six points on the board, just take it."

A versatile player from Rathnew, Glynn has done well under Mick O'Dwyer's management and got the call-up two months ago when Seán Boylan and the national selectors were putting together their training panel.

He attended so diligently and worked so hard one observer said it would have been heartbreaking for him to be judged surplus to requirements. There was, however, no need to worry.

"About six or seven weeks ago I got a call from Seán," he says, "and he said to come up for a trial.

"We were in Parnell Park and Dunboyne, and did that for about six weeks. I'd never played it before - I wasn't on my own, there was a good few with me - but I think I picked it up fairly quick.

"I really enjoyed it, the pace and the speed of it, the tackle and the movement."

During the first Test Glynn's ability to move the ball and the priceless positional sense that allowed him take just enough time to pick out the next pass demonstrated a natural talent for the demands of the game.

No matter how diligent the training, he says, nothing prepares you for the crunching reality of a Test match.

"I'd done all the training and played the trial games, but nothing compares to what it was like on Friday, just a frantic pace throughout. We used the nine interchanges in every quarter. You have to do it: you wouldn't last the whole game because it's so fast.

"I enjoyed the tackle, actually enjoyed it, because we did a tremendous amount of work with Mick McGurn. At the start we were rushing into tackles, going flat out, but Mick showed us how to slow down, make a few small steps and then hit. I thought tackling them would be harder, but when you get to tackle right, you can put them down."

Glynn's importance to the side is demonstrated in how much time he spent on the field. By his calculation: "I played a lot. I played in every quarter - probably off for six or seven minutes altogether, which was needed."

The one-point lead from the first Test isn't exactly a cushion going into the MCG on Friday night, but Glynn believes there is better in Ireland once the team sharpen their tactics.

Primarily, he sees room for improvement in the quality of attacking ball going into the forwards. On Friday there was a tendency to fire in early ball, especially when Kerry's All Star full forward Kieran Donaghy was in position.

"We kicked in a few long balls because Kieran was in there," says Glynn, "instead of maybe looking for Benny (Coulter) coming out short, because when we did pop them in to Benny and Seán (Cavanagh), they made marks, and these lads won't miss much from 20 or 25 yards. Our passing can improve too."

Before he left, he got a call from his county manager. Mick O'Dwyer's involvement with International Rules is famous - or infamous - for the fact he was never invited to take the Ireland coaching job, despite a pre-eminent record at intercounty level. But he passed on some advice to his Wicklow charge.

"Micko rang me and wished me the best of luck and told me the usual thing, to get stuck in and don't worry about anyone else."

There'll be no complaints in Waterville after Friday night.

On arrival in Melbourne at the weekend, the Ireland team travelled to Lorne, a couple of hours away on the coast, for two days of relaxation before returning to the city tomorrow to pick up on preparations for the second Test.

It was confirmed at the weekend that the Australia vice-captain Campbell Brown will not face further sanction after he was sinbinned toward the end of Friday's first Test, in Perth.

Ian Curlewis, the South African lawyer who is acting as independent video referee with extensive powers of review, decided no additional penalty was warranted for the hip-and-shoulder charge into the chest of the Ireland full back Finian Hanley.