Meet Tom Varndell, the South China Tigers’ expat try-scoring machine raring to go in Hong Kong
- The English Premiership’s all-time leading try scorer comes to Hong Kong to take part in Andrew Forrest’s Global Rapid Rugby
- Thirty-three-year-old says he is delighted to be in the city and is looking at further opportunities here
At this point in his career, Tom Varndell, the English Rugby Premiership’s all-time leading try scorer, is as concerned about life off the pitch as on it.
The 33-year-old, who has had a decorated career for various clubs and country, just signed with the South China Tigers, the Hong Kong Rugby Union’s team that will compete in Andrew Forrest’s Global Rapid Rugby. He recently axed a short stint in France to play for that very reason.
Varndell said the cultural barrier was too high for he and his family, and thus after six games with Soyaux Angouleme, a team based in the southwest of France, he headed back to familiar territory: the Leicester Tigers, the squad he played for last in 2009.
Varndell’s French excursion is well documented and the challenges of life outside the major cities in the country is well known for foreigners, and so the towering, powerful winger who stands 1.88 metres tall said it is all in the past and he is amped to be in Hong Kong for a new adventure.
“I’m fresh off the boat as they say,” said Varndell, who is currently rooming in Wan Chai with Fiji Olympic gold medallist Samisoni Viriviri, who was also brought in to play for the Tigers. “I just felt this was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to.”
Varndell was contacted by Hong Kong Rugby Union national men’s backs coach Scott Sneddon, and said after a few weeks, decided to talk to Leicester Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy, who gave his blessing for a three-month hiatus.
The South China Tigers will play their first game in GRR’s condensed 2019 “showcase series” on March 29 against the Western Force in Perth. They will then play the Asia-Pacific Dragons on April 21 in Hong Kong at the Aberdeen Sports Ground, and then head to Singapore to play the Dragons on April 28. The Tigers will round out with a final game against the Force at Aberdeen Sports Ground on May 12.
Varndell, who has been to Hong Kong three times previously with the English sevens squad for the Hong Kong Sevens, won the tournament in 2006 when his squad beat Fiji 26-24. Although he said his time exploring the city was limited, as he was either at Hong Kong Stadium, at the Marco Polo Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui recovering, or riding the ferry across the Victoria Harbour.
Varndell added part of the reason he picked Hong Kong is the potential to possibly look beyond his playing career here in the city. He said he is obviously focused on doing the one thing he does best – scoring tries with his speed and size for the Tigers in GRR’s fast-paced, rule-bent rugby game – but is cognisant he needs to start looking towards the horizon as well.
“If there are opportunities to stay here longer, there is flexibility to look at that,” said the winger, noting his family will be visiting him regularly in Hong Kong from England. “Because I have to look long-term now, I’m not going to play rugby forever.”
Another selling point, Varndell said, was the people he spoke to who have migrated to the city from England originally thinking short-term, but are now inching towards permanent resident status.
“I’ve spoken to people who have come from the UK who came for a couple months and are now here for five or six years. So my experience so far in the days I’ve been here is it’s an amazing place, there’s nothing like it in the world.”
Varndell said he is excited to have a few pints in the stands during the Hong Kong Sevens (April 5-7) as a fan for the first time, but first, he needs to gel with his new teammates.
“The majority of these boys play for the Hong Kong national team, so you don’t want to come in and put your mark on it straight away, you have to put your head down and work hard and prove yourself, and you prove yourself in training. You prove yourself by taking your opportunities when you get them, and wherever you go in the world that is the basic outline of rugby: you work hard and earn the respect of your teammates first, so that’s what I want to do.”
