Rowan Varty (born 20 March 1986) is a British-born Hong Kong

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 ...

player. He plays for the Hong Kong Cricket Club in the HKRFU Premiership. Rowan has also captained the

Hong Kong national rugby union team The Hong Kong national rugby union team, nicknamed the Dragons, is one of the better rugby sides in Asia outside Japan, and has consistently made the repechages of the Rugby World Cup qualifying. Rugby union in Hong Kong is administered by the ...

, Hong Kong Sevens team and been selected to play for

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. His sister Lindsay represents Hong Kong in rugby sevens women's team.

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 before attending the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

to read Law and attending the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

for postgraduate studies. 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."Varty among 40 players to join elite sevens training programme". ''South China Morning Post'' 12 December 2013

Play

Varty nominally plays back at 15-a-side rugby, and takes

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 full-back positions for his club, DeA Tigers, as well as at Asian level.Sallay, Alvin (1 June 2013). "Rowan Varty's Barbarians inclusion makes sense for big business". ''South China Morning Post'' Varty led the King George V School (KGV) in their 21-5 victory over Island School in the 2004 Bill Williams Schoolboy Rugby Sevens.Powell, Jonathan (2 March 2004). "Rowan roars in KGV triumph". ''South China Morning Post'' Varty made his international début for the Hong Kong at the age of 18 when he joined a match against Singapore as a substitute."2 Minutes With... Rowan Varty". ''South China Morning Post'', 30 May 2004 Having spent considerable effort to acquire a Hong Kong passport, he eventually acquired one in 2013.Jacqueline, Rachel (20 April 2014). "Passport eligibility rule raises a conundrum for players". ''South China Morning Post'' Varty has represented Hong Kong in three Rugby Sevens world cup tournaments – Hong Kong (

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

) and Dubai (

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

) and Russia (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

).Sallay, Alvin (27 June 2013). "Rowan Varty out to grab the silverware for Hong Kong". ''South China Morning Post'' Varty was selected in April 2013 for the

squad to play

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

, 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 Timoci Nagusa (born 14 July 1987) is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a wing. He played his rugby for French club, Montpelier for 10 years before leaving for ProD2 club Grenoble in 2020. He is 1.88m (6'2) and weighs 88 kg. He w ...

to win his first Barbarian cap.Sallay, Alvin (23 April 2013). "Rowan Varty to add pace to Barbarians". ''South China Morning Post'' , 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varty, Rowan 1986 births Living people English rugby union players Hong Kong international rugby union players Hong Kong rugby union players Hong Kong people of British descent Hong Kong people of Portuguese descent English people of Hong Kong descent English people of Portuguese descent Hong Kong people Asian Games medalists in rugby union Rugby union players at the 2006 Asian Games Rugby union players at the 2010 Asian Games Rugby union players at the 2014 Asian Games Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi players Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Male rugby sevens players Hong Kong international rugby sevens players Asian Games silver medalists for Hong Kong Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Alumni of King George V School, Hong Kong Rugby union players from London