Alain Colm Pierre Rolland (born 22 August 1966) is a former Ireland rugby union international and rugby union referee. He also played for

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

. He refereed the final of the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, and was an assistant referee in the final of the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. In September 2013 he announced his intention to retire from refereeing at the end of the 2013/14 season.

Playing career

During his playing days as a scrum-half, Rolland earned three caps for . He started the match on 27 October 1990 against , and gained further caps as a replacement against in 1994 and the USA in 1995. He won 40 caps for

, and played club rugby for Blackrock College. He also played 11 times for English club

Moseley Moseley ( ') is an affluent suburb in south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. It is located within the eponymous Moseley ward of the constituency of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (UK Parliament constituency), Hall Green and ...

during the 1996/97 season.

Refereeing career

Rolland retired as a player at the start of the professional era and began refereeing, with his first Test appointment coming on 19 September 2001 when beat 81–9 at

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

. He made his Six Nations refereeing debut six months later, when France beat Scotland 22–10 at Murrayfield, with his first Tri-Nations match following in July 2003, with 's record 52–16 defeat of . Rolland refereed in the 2003 and 2007

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

s and was appointed to referee the final of the

. Rolland, along with fellow Irishman George Clancy, was selected to a ten-man referee panel for the

. He was an assistant referee in the final. After the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final between Wales and France, Rolland received much criticism for awarding a red card to Welsh captain Sam Warburton in the 19th minute for a tackle which lifted France winger Vincent Clerc off the ground. Wales ultimately lost the semi-final to France, 9–8. The International Rugby Board however fully backed Rolland's decision with IRB referees manager, Paddy O'Brien stating the decision was "absolutely correct". On 22 February 2014, Rolland refereed his last International match as

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

defeated

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

27–6 in the 2014 Six Nations Championship at the

. He refereed his last major European contest on 24 May 2014 in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

final at the Millennium Stadium in which

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

beat

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

23–6. Rolland is a member of the Leinster Branch of Referees. In March 2016 Alain was appointed as World Rugby's 'High Performance 15s Match Officials' Manager', having previously worked as a mortgage broker in Dublin.

References

External links

* * * * http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2016/0311/774207-alain-rolland-named-world-rugby-referees-chief/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolland, Alain 1966 births Living people Irish people of French descent Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Birmingham Moseley Rugby players Blackrock College RFC players Rugby union scrum-halves Irish rugby union referees People educated at Blackrock College Rugby World Cup referees Six Nations Championship referees European Rugby Champions Cup referees IRFU referees The Rugby Championship referees Irish rugby union coaches Ireland women's national rugby union team coaches Ireland international rugby sevens players Irish expatriate rugby union players in England