Alan has worked in sports journalism for nearly 40 years, starting out as a freelance rugby reporter at the Richmond & Twickenham Times. He covered the great Bath team of the early Nineties for the city’s Evening Chronicle and during an 18-month travel sabbatical reported for Australian Associated Press. He subsequently worked as a sub-editor on a number of sports titles, including running the weekend rugby desk at The Sunday Times for eight years and subbing at The Independent on Sunday. He has worked at Rugby World for 25 years, much of that time as deputy editor, and covered 17 matches at the 2015 Rugby World Cup for ITV as a graphics producer and statistician. A qualified referee, he has also edited a digital coaching magazine and chairs a judging panel for the British Sports Book Awards. In 2012 he won IPC Media’s Writer of the Year award in the Special Interest category.