Alan Lewis - the thorough referee
Alan Lewis, sportsman, is preparing for the match at Twickenham between England and France, and the concentration of his preparation is mainly in his mind.
Lewis, who played cricket 122 times for Ireland, 30 times as captain, turned 43 in June and comes off a season which was probably the pinnacle of a career which started 20 years ago. Not that he likes looking back as there is so much to look forward to, but there were four finals last year, culminating in the Heineken Cup Final when London Wasps beat Leicester Tigers. He could look back to that great Test between England and New Zealand at Twickenham in 2005. But his thoughts are about going to Twickenham in August 2007.
But when his thoughts turn back, they turn to 2003, a year of disappointment, but a watershed year, the start of achievements to come.
In 2003 Lewis was not chosen as a referee for the World Cup in Australia but as a touch judge, though he eventually got to referee some matches because Scott Young was injured at the fitness tests.
Talking to the website about 2003, Lewis says: “The disappointment of 2003 taught me lot, not least about myself, and I became a better person as a result. In the gutter I learnt about myself. I realised that I had been doing things wrong – not in technicalities but in my management of the game.”
Help was at hand in the person of Owen Doyle, a Test referee in his time and now the manager of Irish referees. “Owen helped me to maximise my ability. He helped me to identify what was wrong and for me to accept it. In August 2004 I was down to referee a trial match. Owen had it filmed and I asked him to fire his best bullets at me. on the refs cam. Owen has the ability to tell it to you straight. Oh, he will congratulate you if you deserve it but he will also let you know where you are wrong. He did that for me and I realised what was wrong in my communication. It was a kind of revelation – an Eureka.
“From there the blocks of a new building began to grow. It was a personal journey to get rid of resentment and negative feelings – a fantastic journey. And Derek Bevan was another who helped me along the way.
“I learnt to do things my way with greater freedom. Oh, you must hold your line and treat what happens as a matter of fact but it is important to make opportunities work.
“Of course, there’s luck in it. Take the Heineken Cup Final. I’d not have refereed that had an Irish team been involved.”
And so to his preparations for this match.
“This year I took on a guy to help me with my physical training – to give me an extra edge. I don’t train beyond 70% of maximum but I know that my legs can look after themselves, Besides a 43-year-old mind is able to anticipate. When play develops from a set piece the first three strides are most important. After that I can coast.
“The mental preparation is more important and that is where I spend a lot of time so that I am always one step ahead of what’s going to happen. There may be trouble timing issues – especially at the breakdown and in positional play. With the short, lateral passing you have to be more alert to the forward pass, for example.
“I watch a lot of games and study them. It is important for me to know who the centres of influence are on the field, those apart from the captain who have an influence on the game. This is especially important if the captain is out in the backs. To me this is crucial, to work out what I will tolerate and what I won’t tolerate.
“What helps in this match is that I will know all the players and they will know me, mostly from European Cup.”
But he has not refereed for a while and now is pitched into a Test of this stature.
“The break was good for me. I had refereed non-stop for three years and last season was intense. I was glad that I did not have a Test in the summer, but then when I saw the guys refereeing I thought that I wouldn’t have minded having a game.”
Experience helps?
“You cannot beat miles on the clock. I think that as a referee you come into your prime in your forties. You have covered all the bases and are comfortable in the arena.”
The prospect of the World Cup?
“Oh it will be great. I intend to busy in the World Cup. I love France and want to be immersed in the embodiment of the World Cup and in the French people.
“On the refereeing side, I am not looking a step ahead, just concentrating on my first match – Australia vs Japan. I have not refereed Australia for a while and Japan will be interesting in a different way.”
Alan Lewis was born in County Cork on 1 June 1964. He started refereeing in 1987 when he joined the Leinster Association and refereed his first Test in 1998 – Argentina vs France. The Test at Twickenham will be his 28th. Like Alain Rolland he is not a full-time referee. He is the managing director of an insurance brokerage in the LHW Insurances Group, which he likes being. Apart from anything else it takes him into a world other than refereeing.
