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‘It’s a weird story’: Dietrich Roache’s ‘surprising’ SVNS fairytale
Dietrich Roache’s ascent to Australian sevens stardom is an oddly relatable, candid and passionate tale that certainly has the makings of a SVNS fairytale. Even if it’s just a little bit, every rugby fan will see themselves in this story.
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Just like you reading this now, Roache was once a fan of rugby union. After playing league for a couple of years as a teenager, Roache was invited to the 2018 Sydney Sevens by his father.
That enthralling tournament at the Sydney Football Stadium in late January changed Roache’s life forever, with the youngster falling “in love with the sport straight away.”
Roache decided to devote himself to an intense two-year training period in the hopes of one day following in the footsteps of his rugby heroes on the world stage.
Week after week, month after month, Roache worked tirelessly by playing in “every domestic tournament I could.” Eventually, it all paid off.
Just like the great sporting fairytales around the world – like Tom Brady persisting in the face of doubt and scrutiny to win seven Super Bowls or even Eddie the Eagle’s appearance at the Winter Games of ’88 – Roache defied the odds to turn his dream into a reality so soon.
By his own admission, even Roache was surprised with how quickly the opportunity to don the iconic gold jersey of Australia after being offered a contract in 2020.
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“My Dad actually invited me to go watch the Sydney Sevens in 2018 and that’s where it started for me. I pretty much fell in love with the sport straight away and I got to work pretty much from there,” Roache told RugbyPass earlier this month.
“It’s a weird story because some people take their whole life (achieve) something like this but I was lucky enough to work hard enough to get an opportunity to sign my first contract at the start of 2020.
“Definitely surprising how quickly it came. In my mind, I was honestly thinking four or five years, and that’s the time limit… hopefully I can make it.
“I got the opportunity quicker than I thought. I was just grateful that I had a great support system that kept me grounded and kept me working hard because I was always told, ‘Once the opportunity comes you better be ready and if you’re not there might not be another one.’
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“That was always in the back of my head. I didn’t know when the opportunity was going to come but when it comes I’ve got to make sure I’m ready. I’m glad I was ready.”
At just 22 years of age, Roache has already established himself as a young leader within an Olympic-bound Australian men’s seven side. But the young Aussie is hungry for more.
In a testament to his character, Roache has a relentless determination to not only compete but shine on the SVNS circuit – you can see that every time he takes the field around the world.
Sporting what’s becoming a somewhat iconic black headgear, Roache has a knack of scoring tries for fun and he’s also a hard-hitting defender when called upon on the other side of the ball.
With Roache preparing for his third season, the Aussie is channelling the lessons from a “tough” 2022/23 campaign which saw him fall victim to a notorious sporting plague.
“I’m happy but I’m just probably not satisfied yet. I think I can do a lot more,” Roache added.
“Especially just me comparing my first year to my second year, it’s quite tough to say, quite tough to admit but that second-year syndrome crept in a little bit for me and I felt like I let myself down a bit.
“This third year coming up now for me is just a big one where I really want to go further than I went and I don’t want to be taking steps back. Definitely happy but not satisfied.”
As a debutant who was still very green on the international sevens stage, Roache debuted in Aussie green and gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Australia were beaten by New Zealand and Argentina in pool play, and were knocked out of medal contention in the quarterfinals by eventual champions Fiji.
The “heartbreak” from that disappointing campaign is fuelling the team going into another Olympic year, with the Paris Games waiting patiently on the horizon for the sporting world.
But after a gruelling preseason, and with the new-look SVNS circuit waiting for the 12 best men’s teams in the world, the Aussies are raring to go – and so is Roache.
“It was just a tough preseason. I’m pretty sure we started with 16 players and by the end of it there were just a lot of injuries and that.
“It wasn’t easy what the coaches have put us through, they’ve really tested us physically and mentally, but I think the biggest thing they told us was you’ve got to understand sevens is pretty much putting yourself in a hole and you’ve got to find a way (out).
“The whole preseason, with how hard the training was, the whole mantra was pretty much, ‘Just find a way to get through and we’ll be fine.’ That was what we went off.”
Roache is certainly living his dream. Named in the Australian select squad for the 2023/24 season, Roache will help kick-off the SVNS party in Dubai this weekend.
The SVNS series will also go to Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong China, Singapore and the Grand Final in Madrid.
Roache is already an Olympian and World Series champion, but the opportunity to push for even more accolades awaits.
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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