Background
Roach was born in Sydney. His father, Graham Roach, was also a first grade rugby player who played at hooker for Western Suburbs in the Shute Shield competition.
Roach was born in Sydney. His father, Graham Roach, was also a first grade rugby player who played at hooker for Western Suburbs in the Shute Shield competition.
He played his junior rugby at Hunters Hill Rugby Club, and attended Newington College.
Roach was an Australia Schoolboys representative in 2009 and 2010, and is currently the equal most capped schools rugby player in Australia. Rugby This good form saw him picked by the Western Force for their match against the British and Irish Lions in June 2013. He made the Waratahs extended playing squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season as third-choice hooker behind Tatafu Polota-Nau and Tolu Latu.
An injury to Latu in the latter stages of the season saw Roach earn his first Super Rugby cap as a second-half substitute in the Waratahs 41-13 victory over the Lions on 18 May 2014.
The 2015 season brought further success on the field with Roach earning a further 6 Super Rugby caps for the Waratahs including starting in two fixtures in south Africa against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and Lions in Johannesburg.
Roach initially made his name playing for Eastwood in the Shute Shield competition and was named Rookie of the Year after the 2013 tournament. In the domestic club competition, he added another Shute Shield grand final win (his second in three GF appearances) in a performance that saw him voted the Manitoba of the Match by the television broadcast team
He was also a member of the Australia Under 20 side for both the 2011 where he made 3 appearances (Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand) and 2012 Institutional Review Board Junior World Championships where he was capped a further 4 times ( Scotland, Argentina, France twice).
