Dietrich Roache

Contents

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] While there, he was a part of the Patrician Brothers rugby league team that won the NRL Schoolboy Cup.[7] In 2017, he played for the St George Dragons in the Harold Matthews Cup.[8] Roache is a Roman Catholic.[9]

Rugby sevens 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.[10] He was selected for the New South Wales Waratahs' Junior under-18 team and part of their development programme.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14][15] In 2024, He was named in the Australian sevens team for the Summer Olympics in Paris.[16][17][18]

Rugby league career

In July 2026, the Sydney Roosters rugby league club announced the signing of Roache until the end of the 2027 season.[19]

References

  1. 1."Dietrich Roache". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  2. 2."Dietrich Roache". world.rugby. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  3. 3."Rugby Sevens – Australia vs Argentina – Pool A Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. 4."Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  5. 5.[5.2][5.3]"Tokyo Olympics: Rugby Sevens results and news". The Australian. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  6. 6.[6.2][6.3]"Dietrich Roache hopes to inspire kids from Sydney's west". The Australian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. 7.Boulous, Chris (17 September 2018). "Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield crowned NRL Schoolboy Trophy champions". Fairfield City Champion. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  8. 8."Dragons Junior Rep Summer Train-On Squads Announced". St George Illawarra Dragons. 5 October 2016.
  9. 9.Cramsie, Debbie (26 July 2021). "Australian Olympics rugby sevens squad member sees Jesus as No. 1". Crux Now. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  10. 10."Tokyo Olympics rugby sevens results and news". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  11. 11."Dietrich Roache". Australian Olympic Committee. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  12. 12."ROACHE Dietrich Peter". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  13. 13."Youngster in 7s heaven at Olympics". Geelong Advertiser. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021 – via PressReader.com.
  14. 14.Williamson, Nathan (5 September 2022). "Sevens sides confirmed for Rugby World Cup Sevens". Rugby.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  15. 15."GAME BY GAME: Australia Women claim Sevens World Cup, Men finish fourth". Rugby.com.au. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  16. 16."Rugby Sevens launches Australia's Olympics campaign tonight". Rugby.com.au. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  17. 17."Paris 2024 Olympics: Charlotte Caslick, Nicholas Malouf to Captain Australian Rugby Sevens Teams - Full Squads". Olympics.com. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  18. 18."ROACHE Dietrich". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024.
  19. 19."Roosters sign Dietrich Roache through to 2027". roosters.com.au. 2 July 2026.