Alain Rolland is something of a rarity in refereeing circles in that he is a former international player, having won the first of his three caps for Ireland in their 20-18 defeat of Argentina at Lansdowne Road on October 27 1990.
The former scrum half, who also appeared as a replacement against the United States in 1994 and Italy the following year, played for the Blackrock College club in Dublin and also made 40 appearances for Leinster.
Rolland retired as a player when the professional era began to dawn and turned to refereeing instead with his first Test appointment coming on September 19 2001 when Wales beat Romania 81-9 at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
The 37-year-old, born in Dublin with a French father, made his Six Nations debut six months later when France beat Scotland 22-10 at Murrayfield with his Tri-Nations bow coming in July 2003 with New Zealand’s 52-16 record defeat of South Africa.
That fixture was Rolland’s first involving New Zealand and his eighth Test in total as he continues his development as a referee, combining his role as a full-time official and mortgage broker in Dublin.
Rolland, like Donal Courtney and Alan Lewis, is a member of the Leinster Branch of Referees.