The trophy for the International Rules series is to be named after the late Tyrone captain Cormac McAnallen.

This was announced at a joint media conference in Croke Park yesterday by GAA President Seán Kelly and the AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou.

McAnallen, who died last March, was a seasoned international and had played in all six Tests over the past three years despite being only 23 when he played in Perth and Melbourne 12 months ago.

"When Cormac died the whole country was shocked," said Kelly. "We had been thinking about calling the medal for best Irish player of the series after Cormac. We got in touch with the AFL to discuss the idea and they said 'why not name the cup after him?' So this is very much a joint venture. You couldn't have a better role model and I thank Andrew and everyone in the AFL for that wonderful gesture."

"We'd discussed what we should call this cup but hadn't decided," said Demetriou. "When we heard the tragic news of Cormac's passing we were absolutely shocked. He was a fine young man with the world at his feet and we could think of no one better to symbolise what this stands for.

"It represents the integrity of the competition and the relationship between the countries."

Thanking the GAA and AFL, Cormac's mother, Brigid McAnallen, said her son "had loved playing International Rules and really enjoyed his two trips to Australia. He had a mind that encompassed the cultural differences and always enjoyed meeting people from other countries".

Tomorrow's first Test in the Coca-Cola International Rules series will start at 2.10, a little later than previously advertised. Croke Park sources were confidently expecting in the region of 50,000 to attend, which would be a record for a first Test in Ireland.