Dietrich Roache
Full nameDietrich Peter Roache
Date of birth (2001-07-06) 6 July 2001 (age 22)
Place of birthSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight92 kg (203 lb; 14 st 7 lb)
SchoolPatrician Brothers' College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Current team Western Sydney
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2023– Western Sydney 2 (0)
Correct as of 1 December 2023
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2021– Australia 24
Correct as of 1 December 2023

Dietrich Peter Roache (born 6 July 2001) is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Shute Shield club Western Sydney Two Blues and the Australia national sevens team.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

Born of Samoan descent from his father,[5] Roache initially played rugby league for his school, Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield.[6] Whilst there, he was a part of the Patrician Brothers rugby league team that won the NRL Schoolboy Cup.[7] Roache is a Roman Catholic.[8]

International career

Though his father and uncle played rugby for the former Parramatta Two Blues, Roache did not start playing club rugby until 2018.[6] This came after getting a free ticket to the Sydney Sevens in 2018.[5] He gained a reputation as a fast player, being able to run a time of 4.59 seconds over 40 metres. This matched the time of Trae Williams who missed selection for the Australian Olympic team for the 2020 Olympic Games as a result.[9] He was selected for the New South Wales Waratahs' Junior under-18 team and part of their development programme.[10] In 2019, he played for Australia at the World Rugby School Sevens and a year later was signed by Rugby Australia to their sevens programme.[11]

In 2021, when he was selected for the Australia national rugby sevens team for their 2020 Olympics rugby sevens tournament,[5] he was the youngest member of the team and was given responsibility for taking care of the team's mascot Wally.[12] This followed on from Henry Hutchison at the 2016 Summer Olympics where Wally was kidnapped by players from the Sweden women's national football team for 24 hours.[6]

Roache competed for Australia at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ "Dietrich Roache". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Dietrich Roache". world.rugby. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Rugby Sevens – Australia vs Argentina – Pool A Results". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Tokyo Olympics: Rugby Sevens results and news". The Australian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Dietrich Roache hopes to inspire kids from Sydney's west". The Australian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. ^ Boulous, Chris (17 September 2018). "Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield crowned NRL Schoolboy Trophy champions". Fairfield City Champion. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  8. ^ Cramsie, Debbie (26 July 2021). "Australian Olympics rugby sevens squad member sees Jesus as No. 1". Crux Now. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Tokyo Olympics rugby sevens results and news". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Dietrich Roache". Australian Olympic Committee. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  11. ^ "ROACHE Dietrich Peter". IOC. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Youngster in 7s heaven at Olympics". Geelong Advertiser. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021 – via PressReader.com.
  13. ^ Williamson, Nathan (5 September 2022). "Sevens sides confirmed for Rugby World Cup Sevens". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  14. ^ "GAME BY GAME: Australia Women claim Sevens World Cup, Men finish fourth". www.rugby.com.au. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.

External links

Australia 2020 Summer Olympics Squad
Categories