Andrew Cole has been refereeing since the late 1970s, having combined it with playing at Marist Brothers College at Ashgrove in his native Brisbane and later at the University of Queensland.
The Australian, who turns 33 on the eve of Rugby World Cup 2003 and is the second eldest of six boys, graduated as a dentist from the latter in 1982 and set up the Cole Dental practice with wife Anne-Maree.
This practice has gone on to win two national small business awards for their family-friendly work initiatives and Anne-Maree was a finalist in the 2002 Telstra Businesswoman of the Year award.
On the field Cole, who enjoys competing in triathlon and Masters athletics events as part of his training regime, made his Test debut on June 28 1997 when Samoa crushed Tonga 62-13 in Apia.
Two years later Cole made the referees panel for Rugby World Cup 1999, something he lists as a career highlight, with Samoa’s 43-9 defeat of Japan in Wrexham, Wales, being his first appointment.
Cole, who also controlled Canada’s 72-11 rout of Namibia in the pool stages, has since refereed a number of Tests, including Tri-Nations and Six Nations fixtures, as well as Super 12 matches.