Hayes not a supporter of Aussie games

Liam Hayes has never tried to hide his intense dislike for the International Rules series between Ireland and Australia which gets underway once again this week with the second of the two games at Croke Park on Saturday 30th October. The former Meath player’s viewpoint may have something to do with his initial experiences of the hybrid game which this year will feature the Royal County’s Kevin Reilly. Hayes was one of a number of Meath players selected for the Irish squad which took on Australia for a series of games in 1984 that captured the headlines - and for all the wrong reasons. Mick Lyons and Colm O’Rourke were selected on the first team to play Australia at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork with Hayes among the substitutes. Meath legend Peter McDermott was the manager and there was a mixture of curiosity and apathy among the public towards what was something very different in the fixtures calendar. The Meath panel who had won the All-Ireland in 1967 had toured Australia in ’68 and helped to forge strong connections between the two footballing fraternities on opposite sides of the world. The connections became something more concrete in 1984 when the Australians made the long journey to the Emerald Isle to renew 'friendships.’ At first it was banter and fun, then it all went a little crazy. The Aussies, who up to then had been friendly and non-combative in a series of warm up games, suddenly brought a much harder edge into the first test played before 8,000 spectators. Ireland were caught unawares. In the opening minutes Lyons was caught off-the-ball and hit with a punch that knocked him out. “The whole thing was a novelty, it was the first men on the moon type of thing. There was a lot of excitement, but there was also a lot of things which started to go wrong,” Hayes recalled last Friday when he spoke to the Meath Chronicle. “We were suckered into it because we played the Australians in two trial matches, one in Croke Park, one in Galway. They were just trial games to figure out the whole thing, for everyone to become acquainted with the ball and the rules. “There wasn’t as much as a finger raised, never mind a fist. We beat them by 40 or 50 points in both matches. “We thought that the first test was going to be the same again, but within minutes the fists were flying and Mick was carted off. He was hit from the blindside, didn’t have a chance.” The former Skryne player - who has just re-issued his book “Out Of Our Skins” the account of his years playing for Meath - says because the Australians struggle with the round ball they compensate by increasing the physically of the tackles. “We were in the dressing rooms at Pairc Ui Chaoimh and the dressing rooms there were tiny. Half of us were in the jacks togging out and the other half were in the main dressing room,” he recalled. “I was in the jacks with most of the Kerry lads, everyone was joking, the 'Bomber’ Liston was telling jokes by the mile, we were all laughing. It was just like going out before a normal training session. Then it all started.” It wasn’t until the second or third tests, added Hayes, that Ireland started to come to terms with their opponents approach although that also led to a series of melees. Hayes came on in the first test and made a cameo appearance in the third game at Croke Park played before 32,318. Joe Cassells came in to make a contribution, replacing Hayes at one stage. “I didn’t mind Joe coming on for me, he was able for the physical stuff far better than I was, he was strong as a horse and smart as a horse and I had the red carpet out for him.” Hayes took part in a subsequent International Rules series in Ireland in 1987 and by then he was better prepared for what awaited. What undermines the game, he says, is that the Aussies are unable to manage the round ball and have to resort to the “physical stuff” to compensate. “It’s just daft. Any half-decent Irish team should beat the Aussies by 30, 40 points. The only way the Australians level the playing field is by raising the physical stakes. The main problem I have is the amount of space it takes up in the calendar.” On another burning issue Hayes believes that the two “stand-out” candidates for the Meath manager’s post are Liam Harnan and Gerry McEntee. While McEntee is unlikely to feature, Harnan has gone forward for an interview. “I think the qualities that you need are all inherent in Liam Harnan,” he said.