World Footy News

The first ever International Rules game to take place in France was held in Paris on Monday 24th of November. It saw two Parisian teams, the Gaels of Gaelic football and the Cockerels of Australian football, fighting hard for the win on a cold winter night.

It has been an exciting year for both teams, the Cockerels won the inaugural French Cup in June, and the Gaels finished the European Cup as runners up.

The match saw the Gaels run out comfortable winners, with a final scoreline of 84-17, but set in motion plans for a regular Paris International Rules series to be held in the coming winter.

The Gaels are much more organised as a team than the Cockerels, having played in the European Championship for a few years, and becoming champions four times. As a result they are used to playing with each other, which is not the case with the Cockerels.

Many of the Cockerels' squad only joined this year, and even if half the player are Australians, the team lacks the playing experience that the Gales have. If you add to this that International Rules is played with a Gaelic football, it's no wonder that the Gaels quickly took the lead in the game.

Despite the "unusual ball", the Cockerels fought hard, laying some fierce but fair tackles and showing some good marking skills.

The first two quarters were easily won by the Gaels (Gaels 1-7-7 Cockerels 0-0-1, Gaels 1-2-6 Cockerels 0-1-0). The Cockerels completely missed the third quarter (Gaels 1-4-7 Cockerels 0-0-0) and were not able to score a single point. The final term saw the Cockerels waking up, eventually winning the quarter 0-2-4 to the Gaels 0-0-4.

Final score: Paris Gaels 3-13-24 (84) d Paris Cockerels 0-3-5 (17).

Despite the cold night and the injuries, the game was a success. The two clubs have decided to organise more games during the winter time and to compete in the Paris International Rules Cup.

The PIRC will be the first International Rules tournament in France and probably in mainland Europe, set to run from November to March with one game per month. The team that win the most game will be crowned PIRC champion. Such a tournament is a great thing for the development of Aussie rules in the French capital as it will offer games to the players without having to bear the costs of a trip to Strasbourg or Bordeaux.

The second game of the PIRC was played on Monday 15th and saw the Gaels victorious once again but the Cockerels showed signs of improvement, Gaels 24 Cockerels 70.

Another International Rules fixture is scheduled in early February in Bordeaux. Bordeaux's Aussie rules club, the BX Bombers, will take on the newly formed Gaelic football side.