Record crowds expected

International Rules NewsThe prospect of two sell-out crowds will add to the Australians' incentive to be at their best in the International Rules series, according to AFL spokesman Patrick Keane.

The GAA yesterday reiterated that Saturday's first Test at Pearse Stadium in Galway is a sell-out and no further tickets should be sought from Croke Park or other GAA outlets, while over 65,000 tickets have been allocated for the second Test in Croke Park on Sunday week, with family, group, juvenile and other concessions already issued.

"I think we always expected Pearse Stadium to sell out," said Keane, "just because we haven't played in that part of the country before. But if it does happen that Croke Park is also a sell-out then that will be fantastic, a great response from the people of Dublin and elsewhere to the series.

"We still expect to have some support of our own, and reckon there are a fair few Australians coming over from places like London. But it should make for a great atmosphere, and will help us make sure we're on top of our game and perform to our very best."

Croke Park's capacity for Sunday week has been set at a reduced 78,700 because of refurbishment work in various parts of the stadium, down from the usual capacity of 82,300. But a record attendance now seems certain, with the final figure set to surpass the existing record of 71,521 that showed up for the second Test in Croke Park in October 2002.

That happened to be one of the worst days of the year with driving rain and an arctic wind, and it was subsequently revealed that around 5,000 tickets paid for in advance weren't taken up on the day. Clearly the violent scenes that marred last year's series in Australia have had little effect on public interest in the game.

Two years ago, when the series was last played in Ireland, 46,370 showed up for the first Test, and although Ireland were convincing 77-41 winners, the attendance grew to 60,515 for the second Test.

The Australians didn't train yesterday and instead took a bus tour of Kerry from their training base in Killarney. They had a light stretching session afterwards, with the only minor injury worry over joint-captain Barry Hall, who didn't participate in Tuesday's practice match. "We still expect everyone to be fit for Saturday," added Keane, "and the only worry is deciding which 22 go forward to play, and which three we have to leave out."

The Irish manager, Seán Boylan, will meet his Australian counterpart, Kevin Sheedy, in Galway at lunchtime tomorrow when they hold a press conference ahead of Saturday's first Test.

Pat McEnaney has been selected as the Irish referee for Saturday's Test.