Refereeing the World Cup final in Paris is the culmination of a four-year plan for Irishman Alain Rolland.
Rolland officiated in the 2003 World Cup when he set his sights on taking charge of the climax of 2007 competition.
This year the 31-year-old mortgage broker from Dublin took charge of Wales v Canada, France v Namibia and England v Tonga in the pool stages before being appointed for the quarter-final meeting between England and Australia in Marseille.
His performances in these matches, along with Ireland’s early elimination, saw him put in charge of the final between England and South Africa at the Stade de France.
‘I set a goal for myself at the end of the 2003 World Cup that I wanted to referee the 2007 World Cup final. I had a four-year plan to try and succeed and thankfully I am delighted that it has come to fruition,’ Rolland told IrishRugby.ie.
‘We were told at the beginning (of the 2007 tournament) that they were looking at referees who were on form during the course of the World Cup’s pool stages and quarter-finals and that the selection process would begin there. That’s the way it was done.
‘It’s a tremendous honour that was bestowed on me and it doesn’t really get much bigger than next Saturday.”
The Dublin native, whose father is French, is the first Irish referee to take charge of the World Cup decider.
He added: ‘I am very pleased. I believe that in all of my games I have done well. I have been in regular contact with Owen Doyle (IRFU Director of Referee Development) back in the IRFU after each of my games.
‘I have even done analysis on them and looked at things that I have done well and things that I might have done differently. Overall I have been very pleased with how things have gone for me.’
Saturday will be a big day in Rolland’s life but he is keen to have as relaxing a day as possible.
‘Because it is a night-time kick-off, I will have a leisurely morning and have lunch with the guys. At about 2.30pm I’ll go to bed and sleep until about 5.30pm.
‘At 6pm I’ll have a team meeting with the guys in preparation for the match and then at 6.30pm we get a police escort to the stadium. We get to the stadium at seven o’clock and then we have a general protocol to follow.’
