Introducing... Aussie Rules

Australian Rules Football has its origins in the Gaelic Games, but has moved back to this side of the world with a growing Scottish league. Once seen as violent and aggressive, the game has enjoyed a rise in popularity as its image has shifted. Now pioneered as a family game, the Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) is one of the busiest in Europe.

Teams in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen make up the SARFL, and play in both the league and the Haggis Cup, a competition involving clubs from across Europe. This year eight teams from five different countries competed in the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, with the Glasgow Sharks winning the competition for the first time after eight prior attempts.

AFL Board Member Douglas Hunter of Glasgow was there. He said, "The competition was fierce, fair and played with great sportsmanship. We are very pleased to see the obvious commitment and passion for the sport from all teams and support volunteers."

The sport has grown rapidly in Scotland over the past 10 years. Glasgow Sharks’ senior coach, Stephen Connor, explains: "When I first began here in 1991 … there were only four or five of us and we had to travel to the London Area if we wanted to get involved in matches."

From 2004, the Glasgow Sharks and Edinburgh Bloods played against each other in the then-new SARFL, with Aberdeen joining with the Aberdeen Dingoes in 2008. Smaller university teams have since been set up, with the aim of creating a multi-league system.

A friendly match between Europe and Australia Youth in April this year successfully promoted the game in the UK, with the visitors coming out on top. Last month’s Euro Cup in Belfast saw 18 teams from 17 countries compete, with Ireland the winner of both men’s and women’s titles.

Using tournaments like these as building blocks, the SARFL is trying to change the reputation of the game. Connor has seen this shift in attitudes.

"In the mid-80s, Channel 4 used the aggressive and physical side of the sport to try and ‘sell’ it to the public, highlighting the violence and fights that were a more common part of the sport then. They used all the clichés of ‘Aussie NO Rules’." This, he says, is not the case anymore.

"The sport itself has changed a lot, becoming much more athletic, and several rules have been brought in to encourage teams not to fight."

This productive outlook, international fixtures and a growing fan base ensure that this is a sport moving firmly forwards.