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World Rugby seeks new 15s referee boss as Rolland quits
By Online Editors
World Rugby are on the lookout for a new referees chief after Alain Rolland decided he will step down from his 15s high performance match officials manager role at the end of July after four years. The 2007 World Cup final referee believes the completion of the recent four-year RWC Japan cycle means it is the right time for him to seek new challenges and spend more time with his family.
Rolland, a former Ireland scrum-half, said: "It has been an enormous privilege to work with such an exceptional team of match officials and staff at World Rugby over the last four years. Collectively, we have always strived to improve, to be the best we can be, and I'm very proud of what the match officials have achieved and grateful for their full support along the way.
"I also appreciated the relationship with the national team coaches based on mutual respect and open communication. They, like us, want to see consistency and ultimately a better game, which has been evidenced through our workshops and joint role in assisting with ongoing law reviews.
"It has been a challenging but rewarding journey. I have worked with some incredible people, but the time is right to dial back the travel, spend more time with my family and move forward with my new business ventures."
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont added: "Alain has been at the forefront of raising the performance bar for match officials, adjusting to law interpretations and amendments and developing a strong team culture along the way, which was very apparent over the last four years culminating in World Cup.
"I would like to thank Alain for his dedicated contribution and he will be a tough act to follow. He leaves with a tremendous legacy and a superb group of match officials who, I'm sure, will be in excellent shape at World Cup 2021 in New Zealand and Rugby World Cup 2023 in France."
The process to recruit Rolland’s replacement has yet to announced.
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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