The Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team is known as the Great Britain Bulldogs.[2] The team is made up of the best British born players selected from clubs of in England, Wales and Scotland, and occasional appearances from British players playing for clubs in Australia. In AFL Europe, separate national teams represent England, Wales and Scotland.
They also compete at the triennial AFL Europe Championship, winning back to back titles in 2016 and 2019.
The Great Britain women's national Australian rules football team are called the Great Britain Swans.
History
The British Isles Australian rules team in 1888 at Scotch Oval, close to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, on both of which the team played Australian Rules Football against local clubs
The first team to represent Great Britain in Australian rules was the British Lions during the 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia. The team played 19 matches of Australian rules winning six and drawing one.[3] A standout for the team was Andrew Stoddart.[3] However following the tour the codes had diverged to a point that it was felt that such exchanges could not continue and Australia's policy was not to compete internationally in the sport.
The Great Britain Bulldogs played their first international on 2 October 1993 against Canada in Toronto.
They competed at the 2001 Atlantic Alliance Cup, recording wins over Canada and eventual runners-up Denmark. Great Britain's Best and Fairest player was Tyrone Hallam.
In 2002, the Great Britain Bulldogs competed at the first ever Australian Football International Cup in Australia, finishing sixth. Three years later they also finished sixth at the 2005 tournament.
In October 2005, the Bulldogs played against Ireland in a curtain raiser at the West Coast Eagles vs Fremantleexhibition match at the Oval in London. After this match head coach Matt Connell handed over the coaching role to Charlie Kielty.
British Bulldog manages to get a kick away despite being tackled by a Nauruan opponent during the 2008 Australian Football International Cup
After coach Charlie Kielty resigned in late 2009, Mark Pitura became head coach, with Rob Fielder as assistant. The first test was against a travelling Denmark Vikings squad, which resulted in an 11.10 (76) to 9.9 (63) win for the Bulldogs on Putney Heath, London.
In 2010, the squad competed in the inaugural European Championships in Denmark and Sweden. The squad achieved a credible 4th place, losing out to losing finalists Denmark in the group and co-hosts Sweden in the qualification final. Three Bulldogs were named in the Team of the Tournament. These players were Adam Bennett (Reading Kangaroos), Martyn Hinchey (Southampton Titans) and Gareth Blackstaffe-Turner (Wimbledon Hawks).
At the 2011 International Cup, Paul Harris from the Putney Magpies captained the squad to a seventh-place finish. Brendan McGeever (North London Lions), Ian Mitchell (Wolverhampton Wolves) and Paul Francis (Wimbledon Hawks) served as vice-captains.
A marked improvement in performance culminated in a fantastic performance at the 2013 AFL Europe Championships, where the squad finished as runners-up to hosts Ireland.[4]
In 2014 the Bulldogs once again travelled to the AFL International Cup and were placed in Pool A alongside Ireland, Nauru, Fiji, France and Indonesia. Victories over France and Fiji were achieved and Great Britain finished 9th overall, defeating Fiji 5.7 (37) to 2.7 (19) in the Qualification Final.[5][6]
2016 was a successful year for the Bulldogs as they became champions of Europe for the first time. The bulldogs defeated Ireland 7.9 (51) to 4.5 (29). Six players made the team of the tournament. These were Luke Booth (Huddersfield Rams), Marc Cashman (Wimbledon Hawks), Jack Coughlan (North London Lions), Myles Hudson (Wimbledon Hawks), Michael Sharp (North London Lions) and Andrew Walkden (Manchester Mosquitoes).[7]
At the 2017 version of the AFL International Cup, Will Worthington captained the squad and was assisted by Luke Booth and Sean Walton as Vice-Captains. The Bulldogs finished in a joint-highest position of six.
As of February 2018, Ross Denton, formerly of Birmingham University and currently playing for the North London Lions, was appointed captain of the Great Britain Bulldogs.
The Australian Football International Cup is a triennial international tournament in Australian rules football. It is the biggest international tournament in the sport that is open to all nations. More than 26 nations have participated and the competition has expanded into multiple pools and both men and women's divisions. At the time of the last tournament in 2017, the sport had a record 170,744 registered players outside Australia growing at a rate of 25 per cent per annum.
The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) is an Australian rules football competition and is the governing body of Australian Football in Ireland. Ireland is ranked the number three country in Australian football outside of Australia despite having a smaller league than some of its lower-ranked competitors. Ireland has been a competitor and finalist in all AFL International Cups and a winner twice. The success of the Irish team has commonly been attributed to the ease at which Gaelic footballers adapt to the Australian football because of certain similarities between the two codes.
The Geography of Australian rules football describes the sport of Australian rules football played in more than 60 countries around the world. By 2017 more than 26 nations had contested the Australian Football International Cup, the highest level of worldwide competition.
The Irish national Australian rules football team represent Ireland in Australian rules football and is selected from the best Irish born and raised players primarily from the clubs of the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland but also playing abroad.
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The London Swans are an Australian rules football club based in London, England..
The Putney Magpies is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Putney and Fulham area of South East London, England. The club fields teams in each of the three AFL London divisions — Premiership (1sts), Conference (2nds)and Social (3rds). The associate Netball is called the Putney Blackbirds.
Australian rules football in England is a team sport and spectator sport with a long history. It is home to the longest running Australian rules fixture outside Australia, the match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities which has been contested annually since 1923. The current competitions originated in 1989 and have grown to a number of local and regional leagues coordinated by AFL England. In 2018, these regional divisions were the AFL London, AFL Central & Northern England and Southern England AFL.
The Euro Cup is an international Australian rules football tournament played between European national teams. Played under 9-a-side Footy rules, the tournament was first held at Chiswick in London, England in 2005, created by Australian Football International. A women's cup has been played between more than two teams since the 2014 tournament.
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Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.
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AFL Europe is the regional governing body for Australian rules football in Europe. As of 2018, it organises the AFL Europe Championship and the Euro Cup, and previously managed the European Legion representative team as well being responsible for the organisation of the ANZAC Cup, Fitzpatrick Cup and AFL Europe Champions League.
AFL England is the governing body for Australian Rules Football in England. It was formed in 2012 to succeed AFL Britain with the aim to be more effective in governing the game in England, as both Scotland and Wales had developed their own autonomous bodies.
AFL London is one of the largest organised Australian rules football leagues outside Australia. The league organises multiple grades of full 18-a-side games across London, United Kingdom.
The 2017 Australian Football International Cup was the sixth edition of the Australian Football International Cup, a triennial international Australian rules football competition run by the Australian Football League (AFL).
The Great Britain women's national Australian rules football team is known as the Great Britain Swans. The team is made up of the best British born players selected from clubs of in England, Wales and Scotland, and occasional appearances from British players playing for clubs in Australia.
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8th (as of October 2022 [1] )
