2014 International Rules Test
| Event | International Rules Series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Australia won by 10 points | |||||||
| Date | 22 November 2014 | ||||||
| Venue | Patersons Stadium, Perth, Western Australia | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Luke Hodge (Australia) | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Conor McManus (Ireland) | ||||||
| Referee |
Simon Meredith (Australia) Marty Duffy (Ireland) |
||||||
| Attendance | 38,262 (Sell-out) | ||||||
The 2014 International Rules Series (officially the 2014 Virgin Australia International Rules Test) was contested between Gaelic footballers from Ireland and Australian footballers from Australia. The 18th series of international rules football since the concept's inception in 1984, Ireland entered as defending champions, with Australia seeking their first series win since 2010. The match was played at Perth's Patersons Stadium on Saturday 22 November.
Unlike previous years, the series was reduced to a single one-off test match, which Australia won 56-46 to record their first series win in four years and the Cormac McAnallen Cup. The win also levelled the overall series wins between the two sides at 9-9. Selection eligibility was again altered for the Australian team, with only players previously selected in an All-Australian team eligible to represent Australia.
For the first time since 2004 only players selected for any All-Australian team were eligible for selection to represent Australia. The change was made so as to attempt to boost public interest in the series. In April 2014, the AFL announced that 2008 and 2013 Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson would coach the Australian side and that Collingwood club president and public figure Eddie McGuire would take on the promotional role of Chef de Mission. McGuire stated of the series a need to recapture the prestige associated with playing for Australia; "putting the coat of arms over our hearts again to take on the Irish ... we'll turn this into something special. We will make sure only the very best players will be picked in the first place and that they will be desperate to play".
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