Stephen Lorenzo Varney (born 16 May 2001) is a professional

rugby union player Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

who primarily plays scrum-half for

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

. Although Welsh-born, he represents

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at international level, having made his test debut against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 2020 during the

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

. Varney has previously played for clubs such as

Hartpury Hartpury is a civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It has an area of about . Hartpury Parish Council estimates 700 people live in around 270 houses. The population of the central village area within the parish was estimated at 550 people by ...

in the past. Varney comes from

Rhoshill, Pembrokeshire Rhoshill (also known as Rhos-hill) is a hamlet on the A478 road, in the community and parish of Cilgerran, in Pembrokeshire, South-west Wales. The hamlet is situated at the crossroads between the A478 road and the unclassified road from Cilge ...

, and played for

Crymych RFC Crymych Rugby Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Crymych) is a rugby union team from the village of Crymych in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Scarlets, Llanelli Scarlets. History Crym ...

. In 2020 he was named for Italy U20 squad, for which he qualifies through his Italian mother, Valeria. Varney was named in the Italy Under 20 squad for the

2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 13th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ireland were the defending champions, having won the 2019 Championship with a Gra ...

. Varney made his international debut for

, from the bench, in 2020 in the

against

. He was named in the Italy's 33-man squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

. On 20 October 2024, Varney would leave Gloucester with immediate effect to join French side

in the

competition. On 20 March 2025, Varney returns to the Premiership in England to join

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

for the 2025–26 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Stephen 2001 births Living people Gloucester Rugby players Italian rugby union players Italy international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Welsh people of Italian descent Italian people of Welsh descent Rugby union players from Carmarthen Rugby union scrum-halves 2023 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century Italian sportsmen