Rowan Varty

Rowan Varty (born 20 March 1986) is a British born Hong Kong rugby union player. He plays for the Hong Kong Cricket Club in the HKRFU Premiership. Rowan has also captained the Hong Kong national rugby union team, Hong Kong Sevens team and been selected to play for Barbarians. His sister Lindsay represents Hong Kong in rugby sevens women's team.[2]

Rowan Varty
Birth nameRowan Varty
Date of birth (1986-03-20) 20 March 1986
Place of birthLondon, England
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight81 kg (12 st 11 lb)[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing or full-back
Current team DeA Tigers
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
– DeA Tigers RFC ()
Correct as of 31 May 2013
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–2017
2013		 Hong Kong
Barbarians
1		 (0)
(0)

Biography

Born in London, England to a British father and a Chinese Portuguese mother, Varty grew up in Hong Kong, where he attended King George V School[3] before attending the University of Nottingham to read Law and attending the University of Hong Kong for postgraduate studies.[4]

In December 2013, after having completed a 2-year apprenticeship with Hong Kong law firm, Tanner De Witt, Varty decided to take a sabbatical from his legal career. He was one of 40 players inducted into the Hong Kong Sports Institute, with the prospect of representing Hong Kong in the Olympics, and now works full-time as a teacher at King George V School.[5]

Play

Varty nominally plays back at 15-a-side rugby, and takes wing or full-back positions for his club, DeA Tigers, as well as at Asian level.[6] Varty led the King George V School (KGV) in their 21-5 victory over Island School in the 2004 Bill Williams Schoolboy Rugby Sevens.[7] Varty made his international début for the Hong Kong at the age of 18 when he joined a match against Singapore as a substitute.[3] Having spent considerable effort to acquire a Hong Kong passport,[4] he eventually acquired one in 2013.[2]

Varty has represented Hong Kong in three Rugby Sevens world cup tournaments – Hong Kong (2005) and Dubai (2009) and Russia (2013).[8]

Varty was selected in April 2013 for the Barbarians squad to play England and the British and Irish Lions, becoming the first Hong Kong rugby player to play at this level. He appeared in the match against England, where he came off the bench and replaced Timoci Nagusa to win his first Barbarian cap.[9]

As of October 2020, Rowan Varty is Hong Kong national team's highest all-time scorer with 120 points as well as their all-time leader in top try with 24 of them.

References
  1. "Hong Kong Rugby profile". Archived from the original on 29 June 2013.
  2. Jacqueline, Rachel (20 April 2014). "Passport eligibility rule raises a conundrum for players". South China Morning Post
  3. "2 Minutes With... Rowan Varty". South China Morning Post, 30 May 2004
  4. Andrea Lo (11 April 2013). "Rowan Varty".
  5. "Varty among 40 players to join elite sevens training programme". South China Morning Post 12 December 2013
  6. Sallay, Alvin (1 June 2013). "Rowan Varty's Barbarians inclusion makes sense for big business". South China Morning Post
  7. Powell, Jonathan (2 March 2004). "Rowan roars in KGV triumph". South China Morning Post
  8. Sallay, Alvin (27 June 2013). "Rowan Varty out to grab the silverware for Hong Kong". South China Morning Post
  9. Sallay, Alvin (23 April 2013). "Rowan Varty to add pace to Barbarians". South China Morning Post
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