On the back of Jack Gunston and Shaun Burgoyne's selection in Australia's 2017 International Rules squad, we thought we'd share a brief history of the code, as well as detailing Hawthorn's past achievements.
Read: Gunston added to IRS squad
● Ireland won the two countries' last encounter in a nail-biting affair, overcoming Australia by four points to claim victory in the one-off test match in 2015.
● Although the last time the International Rules Series was a two-match test series, as it is this year, it was a much different story with Ireland winning both games by a record cumulative margin of 99 points.
● There are three forms of scoring in the hybrid game: goals, overs and behinds. A goal, meaning the ball goes into the soccer-like net, is worth six points. An over, where the ball goes through the goals but over the net, is worth three points. A behind is exactly the same as an AFL behind and is also worth one point.
● Luke Hodge is the only Hawk to win a Jim Stynes Medal, which is awarded to the best player of the Australian team for each series. There have been 15 medals awarded since the medal's inception in 1998.
● Shaun Burgoyne and Jack Gunston are the Hawthorn players that will be representing Australia this year. It will be Gunston's first appearance in an Australian guernsey, while Burgoyne previously represented the country in the losing 2008 series.
● Other Hawks to make appearances in an IRS series over the past decade include Luke Hodge (2014, 2015), Grant Birchall (2014, 2015), Luke Breust (2014, 2015), Sam Mitchell (2014, 2015), Jarryd Roughead (2015), Matt Suckling (2011), Liam Shiels (2011), Michael Osborne (2008), Brad Sewell (2008) and Campbell Brown (2008). While Alastair Clarkson coached the side in the 2014 and 2015 series as well.
● Hodge captained the side in 2015, while Brown was vice-captain of the squad in 2008.
