The whistle blower
Subtitle: a journey deep into the heart of rugby
By: Alain Rolland, with Daragh Ó́ Conchúir
Contributors: Ó́ Conchúir, Daragh, author
Publisher: Hero Books
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Lucan, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Language: eng
Number of pages: 225
ISBN-13: 9780952626022
Subjects: Rugby Union football referees; Biography
Description: Alain Rolland is the only Irishman to have refereed a World Cup final. Rolland's lifetime journey through the game - from Blackrock College to Leinster, to Ireland, and onto the greatest stage in rugby when he took charge of the 2007 World Cup final in the Stade de France between South Africa and England - brings readers deep into the heart of the professional game for the first time. A former Leinster scrum-half, Rolland was capped 40 times for his province in the amateur era of the game, and also played three times for Ireland. But it is as a referee that Alain Rolland is best known and respected throughout the world. In The Whistle Blower he now gives a unique and thrilling insight to the professional game, bringing readers up close with the 'Big Two' in Ireland, Leinster and Munster, and also allowing readers out onto the pitch with him as he travels the world and takes charge of the greatest teams in the game - Australia, South Africa and the mighty All Blacks. Rolland's courage as a referee brought him fame and landed him deep in controversy on occasions. The Whistle Blower now explains his biggest decisions in life, and on the playing field.