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| Birth name | Alain Colm Pierre Rolland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1966-08-22)22 August 1966 (age 58) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (12 st 0 lb; 168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Mortgage broker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alain Colm Pierre Rolland (born 22 August 1966) is a formerIreland rugby union international andrugby union referee. He also played forLeinster.[2] He refereed the final of the2007 Rugby World Cup, and was an assistant referee in the final of the2011 Rugby World Cup. In September 2013 he announced his intention to retire from refereeing at the end of the 2013/14 season.[2]
During his playing days as a scrum-half, Rolland earned three caps forIreland. He started the match on 27 October 1990 againstArgentina, and gained further caps as a replacement againstItaly in 1994 and theUSA in 1995. He won 40 caps forLeinster, and played club rugby forBlackrock College. He also played 11 times for English clubMoseley during the 1996/97 season.
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 whenWales beatRomania 81–9 atCardiff'sMillennium Stadium.
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, withNew Zealand's record 52–16 defeat ofSouth Africa.
Rolland refereed in the 2003 and 2007Rugby World Cups and was appointed to referee the final of the2007 Rugby World Cup.[3]Rolland, along with fellow IrishmanGeorge Clancy, was selected to a ten-man referee panel for the2011 Rugby World Cup. He was an assistant referee in the final.[4]
After the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final between Wales and France, Rolland received much criticism for awarding a red card to Welsh captainSam Warburton in the 19th minute for a tackle which lifted France wingerVincent Clerc off the ground. Wales ultimately lost the semi-final to France, 9–8.[5]The International Rugby Board however fully backed Rolland's decision with IRB referees manager, Paddy O'Brien stating the decision was "absolutely correct".[6]
On 22 February 2014, Rolland refereed his last International match asWales defeatedFrance 27–6 in the2014 Six Nations Championship at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff.[7]
He refereed his last major European contest on 24 May 2014 in theHeineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in whichToulon beatSaracens23–6.[8][9]
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.[10]
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