Dietrich Roache
Dietrich Roache (born 6 July 2001) is an Australian rugby sevens player.[1][2] Roache was a member of the Australian men's rugby seven's squad at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.[3] The team came third in their pool and then lost to Fiji 19-0 in the quarterfinal.[4] Roache plays club rugby union for Western Sydney Two Blues.
Full name | Dietrich Peter Roache | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 6 July 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 92 kg (203 lb; 14 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Patrician Brothers' College | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Youth
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]
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
- "Dietrich Roache". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Dietrich Roache". world.rugby. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- "Rugby Sevens – Australia vs Argentina – Pool A Results". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- "Tokyo Olympics: Rugby Sevens results and news". The Australian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Dietrich Roache hopes to inspire kids from Sydney's west". The Australian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- Boulous, Chris (17 September 2018). "Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield crowned NRL Schoolboy Trophy champions". Fairfield City Champion. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- Cramsie, Debbie (26 July 2021). "Australian Olympics rugby sevens squad member sees Jesus as No. 1". Crux Now. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Tokyo Olympics rugby sevens results and news". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Dietrich Roache". Australian Olympic Committee. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "ROACHE Dietrich Peter". IOC. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Youngster in 7s heaven at Olympics". Geelong Advertiser. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021 – via PressReader.com.
- Williamson, Nathan (5 September 2022). "Sevens sides confirmed for Rugby World Cup Sevens". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- "GAME BY GAME: Australia Women claim Sevens World Cup, Men finish fourth". www.rugby.com.au. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.