Strong turnout for Rules session

Gaelic Games / International Rules: Kerry full back Michael McCarthy is the only player from last Sunday's All-Ireland final to withdraw from this weekend's International Rules gathering in Dublin.

Fifteen players, eight from Kerry and seven from Tyrone, will link up with Pete McGrath's provisional squad for tonight's training session at Ballymun Kickhams GAA club.

This means all the major contenders for 2005 footballer of the year - Tomas Ó Sé, Colm Cooper (Kerry), Seán Cavanagh, Ryan McMenamin and Stephen O'Neill (Tyrone) - are available for selection in Monday's 26-man touring party.

"To date, all the players, besides Mike McCarthy, who cited personnel reasons for withdrawing, will be there," said selector John Tobin. "What part they play we will have to see as the club championship is on, which we also understand."

A trial match will be played at Croke Park tomorrow morning at 10am against a purely amateur under-23 Aussie Rules selection. Next Wednesday the Australian tourists face an Army Selection in Galway before heading to west Cork the following weekend to play Castlehaven GAA club.

The Castlehaven connection is via Bernie Collins who played with Aussie Rules side the Western Bulldogs.

While the Tyrone contingent are making the trip south, only Brian McGuigan will be expected to take a full part in the match as the other six All-Ireland champions are lining out for their clubs on Sunday.

Due to the county championships, and the possibility of players staying loyal to their clubs over international representation, only definite tourists will be announced on Monday with another four or five added next week.

"It is the same story of players being caught between the choice of club or county, only now it club or country," said Croke Park head of games Pat Daly.

"Although Tyrone has never been a hot bed for international rules, it is gaining momentum now and players are keen to be a part of it, especially as they would be playing for the Cormac McAnallen Cup."

Although at Croke Park, the trial match is not an official GAA fixture, equally, it is not behind closed doors either. It is seen as an opportunity for players to reacquaint themselves to the rules, while some, like Paddy Bradley and Thomas Walsh, will be getting their first taste of the hybrid game. The visitors are expected to bring them crashing down to earth with the alien tackle law.

Although, the tempo is not expected to be overly testing, Aussie teams always tend to produce aggressive players. The loss of Declan Browne to a late tackle two years ago in the warm-up game before the Test series is a prime example of what can happen.

The match should also give touring referees Michael Collins, of Cork, and Meath's Dave Coldrick, a chance to readjust to the game ahead of next month's departure.

Meanwhile, the search for the next Limerick football manager took a new twist yesterday when front-runner for the job John Kennedy withdrew his name. The former Clare manager based his decision on business commitments.

"I just started an electrical business five weeks ago so I can't realistically give the time required for travelling to another county every week," said Kennedy. "I wanted to be courteous to the Limerick football board so before any decision was made I informed PRO John Ryan and football chairman Owen Hayes that I would be pulling out.

"When the business is up and running I will consider taking a job in another county again but for now I would prefer to be involved closer to home, possibly with a local (Kerry) club."

With Páidí Ó Sé also believed to have withdrawn, four candidates remain; former Kerry manager Mickey Ned O'Sullivan, All-Ireland winning club manager with Caltra Frank Doherty and Limerick natives Dave Lawlor and Mossie Murphy.

Sony computer entertainment announced yesterday "Gaelic Games: Football", exclusive to the Playstation Two, will be launched across Ireland on November 11th. Fully licensed by the GAA and developed by IR Gurus, the developers of the Aussie Rules version, this is the first time a Gaelic football game has been available in the market.

The game will allow players to follow a full GAA season, including the national football league, provincial and All-Ireland championships.

Eleven stadiums have been recreated including Croke Park, O'Moore Park, Semple Stadium, Casement Park and Pearse Stadium. All the current inter-county teams are available including London and New York, while Micheal Ó Muircheartaigh provides commentary.

Sony worked with Foras Na Gaeilge to develop a full Irish language menu option and manual.

"We are delighted that the game will be available for the Christmas market and I know there are many thousands of GAA fans who have been patiently awaiting the games arrival," said GAA president Seán Kelly.

The first leg of the 2005 European National Hurling League takes place in Brussels this weekend with a guest appearance from the well-respected Wexford referee Dickie Murphy.

The league moves on to Zurich, Munich, The Hague and possibly Luxembourg but this Saturday the teams are playing for the Charlie McCreevy Cup after the EU commissioner recently became patron of the local club.