Rolland the frenchman

What a suprise Rolland reffed the saints game with his french passport in his back pocket yet again. this man should NEVER we allowed to ref a game involving a french team again. Time and time again we see his French bias come out. Northampton Saints are just the latest victim of this.

I was waiting for such a post, it does put him in a difficult position that he should not be in.

He was shocking tonight, not sure if he was favouring the French team or just the home team though. Either way he is a very very poor ref.

Saying that I thought I saw him wearing a Castre jersey under his kit...

wrfc1980 wrote:What a suprise Rolland reffed the saints game with his french passport in his back pocket yet again. this man should NEVER we allowed to ref a game involving a french team again. Time and time again we see his French bias come out. Northampton Saints are just the latest victim of this.

More of this nonsense. He's not French. Wasn't born there. He holds an Irish-issued EU passport. He is an Irish citizen. Played for Ireland. Lives in Ireland. Maybe he shouldn't be reffing welsh matches because he's a Celt. Or England cos he speaks English.

He doesn't pick the games, he's assigned to them.

fine by me but then next time a french team is playing against an english one, no welsh or scottish ref should be allowed as well ... you guys hold the same passport last time I checked so its even worst.

Pot Hale wrote:

wrfc1980 wrote:What a suprise Rolland reffed the saints game with his french passport in his back pocket yet again. this man should NEVER we allowed to ref a game involving a french team again. Time and time again we see his French bias come out. Northampton Saints are just the latest victim of this.

More of this nonsense. He's not French. Wasn't born there. Holds an Irish passport. Played for Ireland. Lives in Ireland. Maybe he shouldn't be reffing welsh matches because he's a Celt. Or England cos he speaks English.

He doesn't pick the games, he's assigned to them.

whocares wrote:fine by me but then next time a french team is playing against an english one, no welsh or scottish ref should be allowed as well ... you guys hold the same passport last time I checked so its even worst.

WRFC blaming the ref again. I don't see how or where Rolland was bad. Is it because he pinged Saints for their scrum illegalities? More refs should be encouraged to do that.

Frankly, I thought he wasn't so bad tonight. I thought tonight was a tough match to referee, especially how the teams played.

Saints lost because they didn't front up enough in the first half, not because of Rolland. And despite that were in position to score and win at the end of the match. Frankly, Castres were there to be had at the end. The forward pass was the correct call, but drove me nuts because the pass should not have been made with the pressure they were bringing. Just recycle and be patient.

whocares wrote:fine by me but then next time a french team is playing against an english one, no welsh or scottish ref should be allowed as well ... you guys hold the same passport last time I checked so its even worst.

Correct, who cares. +3.5

I thought he had a good game, he picked up the Saints standing up in the front row trying to win penatlies.

Shouldn't wrfc1980 have stayed around to justify the allegations? So just another cheap shot at the guy in the middle trying to do a job!!

Rolland is proud of his French roots. He is fluent in French and I presume he has a French passport. He is Irish and French and that should be recognised.

I wouldn't say he intentionally favours French teams but its human nature to look more favourably on teams they have a soft spot for.

I didn't see the game, appointing a referee who can communicate equally well with both teams is a good thing. The French teams are often at a disadvantage because they don't understand what a referee wants from them.

My only gripe with Rolland is that he sometimes comes across as being bigger than the game he is refereeing. Maybe that's just my perception.

Hound_of_Harrow wrote:I didn't see the game, appointing a referee who can communicate equally well with both teams is a good thing. The French teams are often at a disadvantage because they don't understand what a referee wants from them.

My only gripe with Rolland is that he sometimes comes across as being bigger than the game he is refereeing. Maybe that's just my perception.

Exactly right, he won't even talk to the players at points. One of the worst refs out there.

yappysnap wrote:

Hound_of_Harrow wrote:I didn't see the game, appointing a referee who can communicate equally well with both teams is a good thing. The French teams are often at a disadvantage because they don't understand what a referee wants from them.

My only gripe with Rolland is that he sometimes comes across as being bigger than the game he is refereeing. Maybe that's just my perception.

Exactly right, he won't even talk to the players at points. One of the worst refs out there.

Perhaps but it isn't right to say he favours any team.

I must have counted 5-6 instances when Pat Sanderson (worcester legend!) who has no allenegnce to The Saints commentated how unlucky Saints were on a number of calls. He even wen as far to say how dictatorial the man is! He is popmus, arrogent and talks to the players as though they are low lifes. At one point he refused to answer a question from Hartley who was just rtying to understand what the technical issues were in the scrum. I'm sorry any ref worth their salt will talk to the players and explain their decisions trying to help the flow of the game. Not Rolland last night with the Saints who seemed more than happy to whisltle them off the park without offering an explination or guidances as to what they were doing wrong. I'd like those people who defend the fact he is half French to comment on why it is that whenever he refs a game involving France or a French team he manages to get so many decisions wrong with those decisions almost always faveouring the French team? The last3 games I remember seeing him ref were the Wales v France world cup game, England v Frnace in the last 6 nations and tonights Saints v Castre game. We all know what he did to Wales in the world cup, he tried his best to destroy Englad in the 6 nations an he did destroy Saints last night.

I don't think he is bias, just incompetent.

Credit where credit is due the call for the Warburton card was brave and correct.

I have to agree with Sam.

Well, agreeish. I'm not sure that Rolland is as good as he thinks he is.
Rolland (like Owens) I think, believes his sycophantic press and both appear to be influenced by the home crowd.

Having said that, if the result reflects the balance of play, I find it hard to complain. And Toulouse won fair and square on this occasion.

It's when the ref starts showboating unnecessarily in games - that's when it sticks in the craw. It's a fine line and possibly best seen not when in the middle but when the suspect is relegated to touchline duties and it's then that the showboaters make themselves more obvious by reffing from the sidelines.

Walsh, Lawrence, Rolland and Owens are all showboaters it seems.

However I prefer them all to just plain poor referees.

wrfc1980 wrote:I must have counted 5-6 instances when Pat Sanderson (worcester legend!) who has no allenegnce to The Saints commentated how unlucky Saints were on a number of calls.

Hes English and viewed the match from an English point of view so whatever about the ref Sanderson is definitely biased.

profitius wrote:

wrfc1980 wrote:I must have counted 5-6 instances when Pat Sanderson (worcester legend!) who has no allenegnce to The Saints commentated how unlucky Saints were on a number of calls.

Hes English and viewed the match from an English point of view so whatever about the ref Sanderson is definitely biased.

If you watched the coverage Sanderson came across very even handed even though he is English. Saints deserved to lose the match & Rolland wasn't the reason they lost.
But Rolland does come across as having no empathy for the players at all. An unfortunate style that I suspect does not help players.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:
But Rolland does come across as having no empathy for the players at all. An unfortunate style that I suspect does not help players.

I agree with that. He seems to treat them like naughty schoolboys.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:If you watched the coverage Sanderson came across very even handed even though he is English. Saints deserved to lose the match & Rolland wasn't the reason they lost.
But Rolland does come across as having no empathy for the players at all. An unfortunate style that I suspect does not help players.

I agree. Saints lost because they played poorly for the first 50 minutes. When they played better in the final 30, they did not convert their opportunities, which were absolutely there for the taking. Rolland does have a bit of an off-putting manner, but that does not make him a bad referee. Just not a terribly good one.

wrfc1980 wrote:I must have counted 5-6 instances when Pat Sanderson (worcester legend!) who has no allenegnce to The Saints commentated how unlucky Saints were on a number of calls. He even wen as far to say how dictatorial the man is! He is popmus, arrogent and talks to the players as though they are low lifes. At one point he refused to answer a question from Hartley who was just rtying to understand what the technical issues were in the scrum. I'm sorry any ref worth their salt will talk to the players and explain their decisions trying to help the flow of the game. Not Rolland last night with the Saints who seemed more than happy to whisltle them off the park without offering an explination or guidances as to what they were doing wrong. I'd like those people who defend the fact he is half French to comment on why it is that whenever he refs a game involving France or a French team he manages to get so many decisions wrong with those decisions almost always faveouring the French team? The last3 games I remember seeing him ref were the Wales v France world cup game, England v Frnace in the last 6 nations and tonights Saints v Castre game. We all know what he did to Wales in the world cup, he tried his best to destroy Englad in the 6 nations an he did destroy Saints last night.

Are you saying this to try and get sympathy for your opinion from the Welsh?

profitius wrote:Rolland is proud of his French roots. He is fluent in French and I presume he has a French passport. He is Irish and French and that should be recognised.

I wouldn't say he intentionally favours French teams but its human nature to look more favourably on teams they have a soft spot for.

If you're living in the EU, you're issued with an EU passport - doesn't matter whether you're born in Ireland or France. Rolland more than likely would have his passport issued in Ireland, because he is an Irish citizen. His father is French, his mother is Irish.

Either way by giving him Leicester Ospreys game the whole issue is moot.

I hate the way refs are put in these types of positions when there is no need for it, Rolland and Owens were both put into awkward positions in the WC, as was Lawrence, when there was absolutely no needc for them to be reffing games in which theyre home nation was or could be effected!!!

Isnt it the ssme with British refs. You dont get a scots welsh or english passport. In effect they dont exist as actual countries. You all get a British passport. The french have been on the end of suspected bias for decades its interesting when its perceived to be in the opposite direction from IRishman Alain Rolland...

whocares wrote:fine by me but then next time a french team is playing against an english one, no welsh or scottish ref should be allowed as well ... you guys hold the same passport last time I checked so its even worst.

Although I didn't watch the game last night I do have some sympathy with this cause. I have grown up in England but my dad is scottish. I would find it very hard not to feel some sort of affinity with a scottish side if I was reffing them.

That doesn't mean I necessarily think that Rolland does deliberately favour french sides but the question is raised every time he refs one.

Furthermore Wales had enough chances to win their semi against france even with 14 men so he can't be blamed for that...my mum is welsh and I was very gutted but we still should have finished them off.

And I don't know many people who choose their loyalties through their passport...

mckay1402 wrote:Although I didn't watch the game last night I do have some sympathy with this cause. I have grown up in England but my dad is scottish. I would find it very hard not to feel some sort of affinity with a scottish side if I was reffing them.

That doesn't mean I necessarily think that Rolland does deliberately favour french sides but the question is raised every time he refs one.

Furthermore Wales had enough chances to win their semi against france even with 14 men so he can't be blamed for that...my mum is welsh and I was very gutted but we still should have finished them off.

The question is only raised by sore losers I think

DOD wrote:

mckay1402 wrote:Although I didn't watch the game last night I do have some sympathy with this cause. I have grown up in England but my dad is scottish. I would find it very hard not to feel some sort of affinity with a scottish side if I was reffing them.

That doesn't mean I necessarily think that Rolland does deliberately favour french sides but the question is raised every time he refs one.

Furthermore Wales had enough chances to win their semi against france even with 14 men so he can't be blamed for that...my mum is welsh and I was very gutted but we still should have finished them off.

The question is only raised by sore losers I think

Not necessarily. There were plenty of non welsh saying it during the world cup.

British maybe?

Theres a british ref already favouring Dragons in the Amlin game this evening...a couple of clear biased decisions...

Oh hang on he just gavee Bayonne a penalty....

DOD

Mate I will give it to you you are trolling every thread to get into some sort of wuming argument, shame your being ignored in 99% of the threads

DOD wrote:British maybe?

Theres a british ref already favouring Dragons in the Amlin game this evening...a couple of clear biased decisions...

Interestingly, I didn't know who the ref was but I do agree that he favoured dragons.

thebluesmancometh wrote:DOD

Mate I will give it to you you are trolling every thread to get into some sort of wuming argument, shame your being ignored in 99% of the threads

erm...not by you...

I didn't see much anti Northampton bias by that total t*t Poite (French btw) last week v Warriors !

mckay1402 wrote:Although I didn't watch the game last night I do have some sympathy with this cause. I have grown up in England but my dad is scottish. I would find it very hard not to feel some sort of affinity with a scottish side if I was reffing them.

That doesn't mean I necessarily think that Rolland does deliberately favour french sides but the question is raised every time he refs one.

Furthermore Wales had enough chances to win their semi against france even with 14 men so he can't be blamed for that...my mum is welsh and I was very gutted but we still should have finished them off.

Are we sure that every other referee in the comp. doesn't have parents from another country.The only reason it's so well known with Rolland is because of his last name and the fact he speaks fluent French.

There was a touch judge on Saturday from England with a decidely Welsh sounding name in the Scarlets v Leinster match.Should his career be handicapped by having teams from 2 countries he can't ref against in the big European competitions.

greytiger wrote:I have to agree with Sam.

Well, agreeish. I'm not sure that Rolland is as good as he thinks he is.
Rolland (like Owens) I think, believes his sycophantic press and both appear to be influenced by the home crowd.

Having said that, if the result reflects the balance of play, I find it hard to complain. And Toulouse won fair and square on this occasion.

It's when the ref starts showboating unnecessarily in games - that's when it sticks in the craw. It's a fine line and possibly best seen not when in the middle but when the suspect is relegated to touchline duties and it's then that the showboaters make themselves more obvious by reffing from the sidelines.

Walsh, Lawrence, Rolland and Owens are all showboaters it seems.

However I prefer them all to just plain poor referees.

Hmmmm, it might be for a different thread but..... is there any good referee? I know the obvious answer is the ref who always whistles in your favour and there are a million other quips out there, but honestly do you believe that there is a good referee out there? When a touch judge brings something to the attention of a referee is that showboating? Is that worse than a touch judge looking after nothing other than the ball going out of play on their sideline and not helping to keep the game being played within the rules?

wrfc1980 wrote:We all know what he did to Wales in the world cup

Well he gave us a late penalty when he should have pinged Luke Charteris for holding on, is that what you're on about?

wrfc1980 wrote: He is popmus

I AM IRON MAN!

Pot Hale wrote:

wrfc1980 wrote:What a suprise Rolland reffed the saints game with his french passport in his back pocket yet again. this man should NEVER we allowed to ref a game involving a french team again. Time and time again we see his French bias come out. Northampton Saints are just the latest victim of this.

More of this nonsense. He's not French. Wasn't born there. He holds an Irish-issued EU passport. He is an Irish citizen. Played for Ireland. Lives in Ireland. Maybe he shouldn't be reffing welsh matches because he's a Celt. Or England cos he speaks English.

He doesn't pick the games, he's assigned to them.

Perhaps he should referee at all, after all he played rugby.

Referees should be isolated from their parents at birth and all raised in Luxembourg by Penguins. It's the only way impartiality can be assured people!

Effervescing Elephant wrote:Referees should be isolated from their parents at birth and all raised in Luxembourg by Penguins. It's the only way impartiality can be assured people!

+1
(though the penquins might feel more at home in Norway, is difficult to get there and is still a neutral country)

Think you'll find there are more penguins in Oz than there are in Norway

Yes, we all know what he did to Warburton, he sent him off for dropping a guy on his neck. Note i said dropping, as that is what happened. Now if you fell like doing sme research, many many weeks after the incident Sam W did an interview in which he admitted that he knew he was going to be sent off because he dropped a guy n his neck. Rolland did nothing wrong, Warburton, unintentionally but stil recklessly) did. Fact. Red card. End of.

Saints failed to win because the didn't do enough to win.