Rowan Varty
The captain of the Hong Kong Sevens team that made it to the Bowl final this year, Rowan Varty chats to Andrea Lo about his career in rugby, his day job as a lawyer, being a Hong Kong citizen—and why partying at the Sevens is essential.
I was born in London. I grew up in Hong Kong, went on to Nottingham University to study law and then I came back and did my postgrad at the University of Hong Kong.
Both my parents grew up in Hong Kong, and they flew to London so that I could be born [there]. They weren’t sure what would happen after the handover. My mom had a Hong Kong passport at the time and my dad has a British passport.
They were worried that I would be one of the people who were left without a Hong Kong or a British passport—maybe just a BNO or something.
It’s ironic that my parents went through all that effort, and then I worked for about a year to try to get a Hong Kong passport and give up my British one.
I wanted a Hong Kong passport so that I could compete in the Olympics. Myself and a couple others [on the team] have done it. It’s a shame that it’s not easier. We are Hong Kong people—our parents were born in Hong Kong and we have lived here our whole lives. We’re gweilos but we’re not really foreign.
In order for us to nationalize and get a Hong Kong passport, we need to go through the same process as someone who has never lived here. That’s the sad thing.