I’d send off Warburton again, says ref Rolland

ALAIN ROLLAND would send off Sam Warburton again if the Welsh captain, or any other player, committed another spear tackle during a game he was officiating.

The Irish referee was subject of a Welsh hate campaign following his decision to give the flanker a red card in the World Cup semi-final against France for the tackle on Vincent Clerc. Given more than a month to mull over his call, Rolland feels the response from the public has copper-fastened his view that he did the right thing.

“I don’t think it needs to be vindicated full stop. The important part when referees are involved, no matter what sport it is, you’ve got to take the emotion out of the incident,” he said on Today FM’s Ray Darcy Show yesterday.

“We can only officiate on the action itself and what he did merited what happened next and the interesting thing or the thing that took me back more than anything else was the number of messages of support from parents and doctors for people who have sons playing the game that were delighted to see something like that being done because they felt the game might be that little bit safer.”

At the time, Wales coach Warren Gatland criticised the Irishman, claiming he should have given his captain a yellow card at most. He said: “In the terms of the rules and the regulations, he is perfectly entitled to give a red card — but every game is different, he ruined the contest.”

However the player at the centre of the matter, Warburton, backed up Rolland and admitted the tackle was over the top. That, believes Rolland, will also help to make the game a healthier one in the future.

“To be fair to Sam I think it’s a true measure of the man that he is,” said Rolland.

“I don’t think he had to come out and say anything. I didn’t care one way or the other because what’s happened happened. But for the game in general I think it was a very good comment by Sam because I think parents looking on would be very happy to see that he came out and said what he said [because it] made the game that little bit safer.”

It also made the abuse Rolland has received since the incident all the easier to ignore.

Thousands of Welsh fans backed anti-Rolland Facebook campaigns and radio phone-in shows were alive with criticism but the former Irish international scrum-half never took any heed of it.

He said: “Anytime you make a decision you’ve got 50% of the people saying it was a great call and equally you’ve got the rest asking how did you do that. But that’s life.”

He did, however, sympathise with Warburton. While accepting the Cardiff Blues man may not have intended to tackle Clerc in such a dangerous manner, he felt the option to take that into account was not the referee’s job, adding: “We don’t officiate on intention we officiate on the action itself and unfortunately what happened gave me no option but to do what I did and if I had to do it all over again I would.”

A lot had been made of his French father and some people questioned the decision to appoint him for such a game — a view which annoys him.

“I don’t know about that,” added Rolland. “My father was a Frenchman but I’ve lived all my life [in Ireland]. I holidayed in France but I’m an Irish citizen through and through.”

But he knows the matter will follow him for years.

Rolland will be 49 by the time of the next World Cup and may not get the nod for the tournament in England.

Rolland added: “I’m not looking that far ahead [the next World Cup]. Derek Bevan refereed his last Test in his 50s but you have to take everything into perspective.

“I’ve a family, I work full-time it’s whether you can continue to juggle all the balls.”