The annual matches between Australia and Ireland resumed in Perth last Friday after a year in hibernation and Boylan maintains a stronger knowledge of what is and isn't allowed by both sides was the main factor in its successful return.
"There were an awful lot of grey areas in the rules that both of us didn't understand and that leads to confusion and when you've got confusion and the windscreen isn't clear then things are going to happen – things that shouldn't happen and wouldn't happen normally in our sport or AFL," Boylan said on Wednesday.
"Both sets of players have bought into that as well otherwise this couldn't work.
"There's a lot of pride at stake and the honour of playing for your country, but I thought the level of sportsmanship all around was absolutely fantastic and that's lovely to see.
"We see some lads lay hard tackles then get up and pat each other on the back and get on with the game – that's lovely and it's really nice to see."
Boylan oversaw a 45-minute training session at Arden St on Wednesday morning and pointed to an act of generosity by Kangaroo big man Drew Petrie as an indication of the renewed goodwill between the two camps.
"We even saw here this morning Drew Petrie came down and gave [Enda] McGinley, who he played on the other night, a couple of his shirts. Isn't that fantastic? He'll treasure those shirts for the rest of his life.
"The terrible tragedy would be if – so few actually get the honour in both our sports of representing their country – friendships weren't forged for the rest of their lives."
With his side holding a slender one-point lead going into Friday night's series decider at the MCG, Boylan said his players must become more comfortable with being interchanged during the physically-draining, high-pressure game.
"In our game if you're taken off [it's like] 'Oh gee, I wasn't going that bad was I?' and they don't come back on," he said.
"Even though in the heat of [this] battle if you're taken off because you're tired, it's still in the back of our people's skulls.
"I think sometimes we switched off a little bit and we lost our shape in that last quarter through pressure from the Aussies.
"That's the sort of thing where four or five of our lads came on and you have to think if [those interchanges] might have upset the way they were thinking."
Although relatively new to the Melbourne sporting landscape, Boylan has already mastered the art of playing a straight bat to enquires about any injuries his players might be carrying.
"We've had some injuries alright, but they're okay," he said with a smile.
"A couple of lads had colds and so on, but that's natural enough when you travel as far as we have done with the different time zones and so on."
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The 2008 Toyota International Rules Series: Australia v Ireland
Second Test – MCG, Melbourne, Friday October 31
Tickets on sale now at ticketmaster.com.au, by calling 1300 136 122 or at a Ticketmaster outlet.
For full coverage of the 2008 series, click here.
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