Boylan: Swine 'flu fears behind Aussies' decision
Sean Boylan has suggested that the swine 'flu pandemic may have been behind the AFL's shock decision to pull out of this year's International Rules series.
The official line from the Australians is that they can't afford to send a squad to Ireland due to the economic downturn, but the Ireland manager thinks there is more to it than that.
"To say it was just monetary, I would find it hard to accept," a sceptical Boylan said.
"There may have been other things. One of the things that crossed my mind was, was there a certain fear of travelling so far on account of the swine 'flu and so on?"
The former Meath boss said the news had come as a massive disappointment to both the Irish management and players.
"It's a huge thing," he insisted.
"When Ireland played Australia last year, 17 counties were represented.
"The way the championship has gone this year, people like Leighton Glynn are household names - but he made his name in a big way playing against Australia.
"It's a massive disappointment for the players because at the end of the playing season they really look forward to it."
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