Joe Roff (born 20 September 1975) is a retired

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in

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, who played on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

or at fullback for

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

and

and played 5 tests as a centre in the early part of his Test career. He also had a spell at the French club

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

and in 2005–6 at

Kubota Spears Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay (commonly known as the Kubota Spears) is a Japanese rugby union team based in Funabashi, Chiba participating in the Japan Rugby League One. The team rebranded as Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay ahead of the rebr ...

in Japan's

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

Of his 86

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

, 62 were won in consecutive games from 1996 to 2001. His final game saw him captain

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

against

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in the 2007

Varsity Match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murray ...

Early life

Joe Roff is from Dubbo. Joe's early schooling included a stint a St Lawrence's Infant School Dubbo. For a time, he attended

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He was also a student at Marist College Canberra, during which time he represented the Australian Schoolboys in 1992 and 1993. Joe Roff's father, Glenn Roff, was Principal of St John's College, Woodlawn.

Rugby career

After a successful junior career he was selected at age 19 for Australia's

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

squad, making his debut against Canada and scoring a try, followed by another 2 against Romania. By 1996 he was a more regular feature in the starting test side before becoming a firm test player for the 1999 Rugby World Cup win and the back to back Tri Nations wins of

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. He was also a capable goal kicker, kicking 18 penalties and 20 conversions in his test career. Roff scored the intercept try from

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...

's pass in the second British Lions Test in 2001. This turned the test in Australia's favour before they went on to win the game with Roff scoring a second try, squaring the series at 1-1. They went on to win the series 2–1. Until March 2007 he was the top try scorer in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

before he was overtaken by

Doug Howlett Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He was primarily a wing, but he also sometimes played as a fullback. He played for Auckland, and the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Blues ...

. He also holds the record for most tries in a Super 12 season, scoring 15 in 1997. Midway through the super 12 season of 2004 he announced that he would retire at the end of the domestic international season. He was just 29 years old and had spent 10 years playing Test rugby and amassed 86 test caps and 244 points. He farewelled the Brumbies in 2004 as the team took the Super 12 Final.

Education

Roff's secondary education was at The Armidale School in

Armidale, New South Wales Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

, and Marist College Canberra that has a proud rugby tradition. Roff was awarded a Bachelor of Applied Finance from the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...

Oxford University

Roff matriculated at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, UK in October 2006 to read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at

Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarianism, Unitarian students and move ...

. He was also involved in the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

. He also made a return to amateur rugby by playing for the

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(OURFC), colloquially known as the Dark Blues, representing the Blues in their traditional fixture against

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

on 12 December 2006. Oxford lost this match 15–6. On 6 December 2007, he captained the Blues to their third successive Varsity loss, losing 22–16 to Cambridge, before hanging up his boots for the last time.

Later career

In June 2012, the University of Canberra Union (student body) announced that Roff had been appointed as its

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

with effect from July 2012, noting that Roff was leaving a management position with

Lifeline Australia Lifeline is a non-profit organisation that provides free, 24-hour telephone crisis support service in Australia. Volunteer crisis supporters provide suicide prevention services, mental health support and emotional assistance, not only via teleph ...

and had previously been a consultant with The Nous Group.UCU appoints Joe Roff as CEO
Amanda Jones,

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

, 14 June 2012

Other

In January 2007, he won the "United Kingdom-based Young Australian of the Year for 2007" for his services to Australian Rugby in general.Australia Day Foundation Party 2007 (includes award photograph)
In 2018, Joe joined Canberra social mixed netball team 'A New Hope'. The team was runner up in the division 3 finals. He was voted Most Valuable Player for the season. During his years with the Wallabies, the

rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

term "Joe Roffie" gradually worked its way into the Australian

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

, being an abbreviation for

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

References

External links

itsrugby.co.uk stats

Rugby-Heroes.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roff, Joe 1975 births Living people Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Biarritz Olympique players Oxford University RFC players Alumni of Harris Manchester College, Oxford Australian Institute of Sport rugby union players University of Southern Queensland alumni People from Armidale Australian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Rugby union players from New South Wales