FYI: What is the difference between Australian rules football and Gaelic (Irish) football?

To the layman's eye, not a lot. Both codes require a lot of running round a large grass pitch while trying to kick or punch a leather ball between two posts. Figure-hugging sleeveless tops and hard-wearing hot pants feature strongly in both sports too. Despite the games' shared ancestry, there are some significant differences between the two.

The Irish play peil or caid, as it is known in Gaelic (though it's also called 'gah' for GAA - the Gaelic Athletics Association) with a round ball, not unlike a soccer ball. The Australians (who call their game football or Aussie rules) chase an oval ball similar to that used in rugby union.

The Irish play on a square pitch, with two vertical posts at each end like those seen in rugby, through which you must propel the ball in order to score a point. Their posts also have nets, below the crossbar, into which the ball can be kicked for a goal, which is worth three points.

The Australians play on an oval pitch with four posts, two of which are taller than the others, at each end; there are no nets. Depending on which posts the ball passes between, a score of either one or six points is gained.

A match can last up to 70 minutes for the Irish and 80 minutes for the Australians. Aussie teams field 18 players each while 15 players take to the pitch for an Irish team.

In both codes, the ball can be passed by way of a kick, an upward punch or a slap of the open hand. Players must bounce the ball in sequences on the ground as they run. Simply throwing the ball is considered a foul in both versions. However, tackling is allowed as both are full contact sports.

The games are believed to have originated in 12th-century Ireland, when the word 'football' was first recorded. What became known as Aussie rules began life around the mid-19th century.