Alain Colm Pierre Rolland (born 22 August 1966) is a former Ireland rugby union international and

rugby union referee Rugby union match officials are responsible for enforcing the rugby union laws of the game during a match and imposing sanctions on individuals who do not follow the rules. "Every match is under the control of match officials who consist of the re ...

. He also played for

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. 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 inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

, 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 International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1995. He won 40 caps for

, and played club rugby for

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary secondary school, voluntary day school, day and boarding school, boarding Catholicism, Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, Dublin, Bl ...

. He also played 11 times for English club

Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...

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 (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

. 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 Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

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 & France, Rolland received much criticism for awarding a red card to Welsh captain

Sam Warburton Sam Kennedy-Warburton, OBE MStJ (born 5 October 1988), commonly known as Sam Warburton, is a Welsh former international rugby union player. Warburton played rugby for Cardiff Rugby and was first capped for Wales in 2009. He usually played as ...

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. On 22 February 2014, Rolland refereed his last International match as

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

defeated

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

27–6 in the

2014 Six Nations Championship The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championshi ...

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 Heineken 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. 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 County Dublin Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Moseley Rugby Football Club 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