Hugh Roach

Hugh Roach

File:Hugh Roach 2014 Rams.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Hugh Roach
Born	(1992-09-11) 11 September 1992 Sydney, Australia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
School(s) attended	Newington College
Club information
Playing position	Hooker
Current club	Waratahs
Amateur team(s)
Years	Team
2012–	Eastwood	38	(65)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Pts)†
2014–	Waratahs	8	(0)
2014–	Greater Sydney Rams	10	(5)
Representative team(s)‡
2010	Australia Schoolboys	11	()
2011–12	Australia Under 20	7	(15 (3 tries))
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 28 June 2015. † Appearances (Points). ‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 28 May 2014.

Hugh Roach (born 11 September 1992) is an Australian rugby union player who currently plays as a hooker for the Waratahs in Super Rugby.

Family and early life

Roach was born in Sydney. He played his junior rugby at Hunters Hill Rugby Club, and attended Newington College. 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 an Australia Schoolboys representative in 2009 and 2010, and is currently the equal most capped schools rugby player in Australia. 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 IRB Junior World Championships where he was capped a further 4 times ( Scotland, Argentina, France twice).

Rugby Career

Roach initially made his name playing for Eastwood in the Shute Shield competition and was named Rookie of the Year after the 2013 tournament. 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. 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 Man of the Match by the TV broadcast team.