Rolland
Alain Rolland is a former Irish player and referee who had a decorated career in the game. Discover everything about this legend of rugby with rugby gurus RugbyPass.
Alain Rolland Bio
Alain Rolland is a former Leinster and Ireland scrum half who was also an elite referee. As well as receiving three caps for Ireland, he officiated in both the Rugby World Cup final and the Heineken Champions Cup final. Alain Rolland was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
Born 22 August 1966, Alain Rolland first came to international attention as a talented scrum half. During his playing days, he made 40 appearances for Leinster and was capped three times by Ireland.
Alain Rolland retired from rugby at the start of the professional era and took up refereeing. In 2001, he officiated in his first test match. Shortly after, he made his refereeing debut in the Six Nations Championship. Then, in 2003, he was asked to officiate in the Tri Nations (now The Rugby Championship) for the first time.
After officiating well at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Alain Rolland was also selected to referee in the 2007 edition of the tournament. After several impressive performances, he was named as the referee for the final.
In 2011, he then refereed in his final Rugby World Cup. Although he attracted some controversy by issuing a red card to Sam Warburton in Wales’ semi-final defeat, he was asked to be an assistant referee in the final.
Alain Rolland’s refereeing career came to a close in 2014, when he refereed his last international game and took charge of the Heineken Champions Cup final. Since, he has held the role of 15s High Performance Match Official Manager with World Rugby. However, he stood down from the role in July 2020.
