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WITH AUSTRALIA, WALES and England all in the same pool, it’s likely that Fiji will be most Irish people’s second team for the World Cup.

And it looks like Alain Rolland will also be rooting for them, after Fiji’s head coach John McKee confirmed he’s been giving them a helping hand in recent months, as they look to cut back on their penalty count.

McKee said that he sought the advice of Rolland during their Pacific Nations Cup title during the summer, and the results have been so good, he was brought back in to help prepare for their final warm-up game against Canada last week, as well as next Friday’s World Cup opener against England at Twickenham.

“At this level a high penalty count can be very costly,” said McKee.

“In the Canada game our penalty count was only seven which was a significant decrease from what we had before.

“It’s just one of many things that we do to make sure that players are very clear in the requirements of the game.”

Rolland was with the Fijians during their training session in Surrey on Friday.

source: http://www.the42.ie/alain-rolland-fiji-2328381-Sep2015/

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.

http://www.easons.com/p-3980448-the-whistle-blower-the-alain-rolland-story.aspx

http://www.amazon.in/The-Whistle-Blower-Alain-Rolland/dp/0952626020