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Hong Kong Sevens
RugbyHK Sevens

Rowan Varty sails off into the sunset as one of Hong Kong rugby’s most decorated players

  • The 33-year-old reflects on memories from a career boasting 12 Sevens appearances, a Barbarians cap and plenty more
  • He is forced to call time on his career after repeated head knocks took their toll

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Rowan Varty in his last Hong Kong Sevens in 2017. Photo: May James
Sam Agars

It says a lot about former Hong Kong star Rowan Varty that he’s sailed off into the sunset with little fanfare, much like the no-fuss manner he went about things on the rugby pitch.

His playing days didn’t end the way he deserved, but the 33-year-old is anything but bitter when looking back on a career that sits comfortably among the most decorated in Hong Kong rugby.

“It’s quite funny, I was thinking about this the other day – all the teams I have stopped playing for have gone onto doing really good things,” he said.

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“I stopped playing for the sevens team and they went and won the Asian Games [last year]. I stopped playing for the 15s and they made it to Marseille [for the World Cup repechage] and obviously there’s the South China Tigers now.

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“I stopped playing for Cricket Club and they’ve won the bloody grand championships. But, of course, I’m happy for all those team. I really enjoyed my career and had a great time.”

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