Citations and despatches to the sin-bin in the 1989 club season may have contributed to his omission by State selectors from the Blues squad of that year however powerful club performances with his fellow representative Balmain forwards made him a certainty for the 1989 New Zealand tour where he played in all three Tests. On the 1990 Kangaroo tour Roach played in all five Tests against Great Britain and France and in five other minor tour games. In a Test match against New Zealand in Melbourne in 1991, Roach clashed famously with Kiwi forward Dean Lonergan and required 20 stitches. Early in the game the Kiwi forward had attempted a tackle on Roach but the pair accidentally clashed heads, leaving Roach requiring stitches and Lonergan convulsing on the ground, though both would return to the game.