I want to improve and be best 9 in the world
Matthew Luddington talks to Gloucester and Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney following his eye-catching campaign
Stephen Varney has truly had a breakthrough season. The 23-year-old scrum-half has been in fantastic form, he played a crucial role in Italy’s most successful Six Nations campaign and lifted his first career silverware as Gloucester won the Premiership Rugby Cup in March, their first trophy in nine years.
Varney feels there is more to come and has ambitions to become the best scrum-half in the world. “In the short term, I just want to keep on improving – I’m still young and have lots to learn,” Varney told The Rugby Paper. “I just want to get better and be the best nine in the world. I want to do well next season with Gloucester and with Italy as well. Next season is massive for Italy in terms of backing up what we did this year in the Six Nations, no teams will take us lightly next year.”
Varney has worked on his mental game in recent years, having openly documenting his anxiety struggles in the early stages of his career, and believes he is now in a very good place to advance as a player.
He said: “A couple of years ago I struggled with confidence. I’ve worked on my mental game, to build up mental toughness, like I do with my physical health. I’m in a very good spot now, mentally I’m strong. I’ve got used to big games. The first 10 caps I struggled the most, but I’ve built mental resilience and am in a very good spot.”
Varney rose to prominence after starring in the Netflix series Full Contact, rugby’s groundbreaking series which provided fans with a close insight into the Six Nations for the first time. Varney was often seen alongside his close friend and former Hartpury University and Gloucester team-mate Louis Rees-Zammit. Varney says he was not surprised by Rees-Zammit’s departure to the NFL before this year’s Six Nations, and the speedster has now signed a contract with the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs.
He said: “I didn’t get the nod for Full Contact this year, I was a one-season wonder! Being on Netflix was pretty weird – scrolling through Netflix and seeing yourself on the cover. It was amazing to be part of, it’s very good for rugby to promote it and hopefully, it kicks on next year again. I wasn’t really surprised about Louis going to the NFL, he’s always had a drive for the NFL and wanted to do it since he was young.
I’m proud he’s done well and hopefully kicks on.”
Gloucester have again struggled in the Premiership this season, finishing one place off the bottom for the second year running. A rare domestic highlight came when Varney’s spectacular solo try secured a first win at Leicester’s Welford Road in 16 years. The Cherry and Whites have largely played their best rugby in knockout competitions epitomised by their impressive run to the Challenge Cup final only to be denied by the Sharks, and Varney is unable to pinpoint why this has been the case.
He said: “It was amazing to be part of a Gloucester team that won for the first time in 16 years at Welford Road but I couldn’t tell you why we’ve struggled in the league and done well in the cups. If I could tell you, I’d be head coach. We’ve had our ups and downs all season and I can’t put anything on it really.
“It was special to be part of a Europe run. In European knockouts we nailed those games very well against Castres and Ospreys. I don’t know what it is, but we sort of click when we know if we lose, we won’t be playing in this competition again.”
“Next season will be massive for Italy in terms of backing up our 2024 Six Nations”
Varney acknowledges the departure of several key players from Gloucester this summer, including Adam Hastings, Jonny May, Santi Socino, Harry Elrington, and Alex Hearle, will leave a hole in the side. However, he is excited by the arrival of Welsh internationals Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe.
He said: “You need strength and depth to compete across a whole season. Anscombe and Williams coming in will help the lads become better players, competition is good to have, and it gets the best out of you – they’ll push us, and we’ll push them and that will benefit Gloucester as a team. We’re losing some big characters, Hasto is leaving, Zam has already gone, and that’s left a hole here, but hopefully the lads coming in will bring in more energy to the season.”
Varney is looking forward to building on Italy’s most successful ever Six Nations campaign. In 2023 Italy secured two wins and a draw from their campaign and could have beaten France, only for the ball to fall off the tee as Paolo Garbisi stepped up to kick the winning penalty. Replays showed Italy should have been allowed to retake the kick because French players were encroaching on the kicker, however Varney is not dwelling on what might have been.
He said: “The France game was fairly frustrating. I spoke to [referee] Christophe Ridley the other day, and he apologised, but obviously, you can’t blame him. It’s a heat-of-the-moment thing, it’s very unfortunate. But still, we’re the best team Italy has ever had in history and produced the best performance we’ve ever had in the Six Nations, and it was amazing to be part of. I want to continue improving now as a team and individual.”
Varney believes that the emergence of a young group of players including Six Nations player of the tournament, centre Tommaso Menoncello has been the key to transforming Italy’s fortunes, and is optimistic about the side’s prospects going forward. Italy face a summer tour with matches against Samoa, Tonga and Japan, before hosting Argentina, Georgia and New Zealand in the Autumn Nations Series as they target their most successful calendar year in history.
He said: “I played with some of the guys at U18 and U20 levels including Menoncello so I know them well and they are a good group of lads. We are now 23/24-years-old with 30 or 40 caps under our belts and while we are very young we have a lot of experience and are in a very good spot internationally. Most boys have a chip on their shoulder from the media getting stuck into them, so they’re hungry dogs. Hopefully, we can have a good summer tour building into the next Six Nations and back up what we have achieved.”
Varney lauds the impact of Italy’s head coach Gonzalo Quesada who took over after the World Cup. The former Argentina fly-half has enjoyed a stellar coaching career. He lifted the Top 14 and Challenge Cup at Stade Francais, led the Jaguares to the Super Rugby final and has overseen a clear improvement in Italy’s defence and kicking game. Italy had won just once in 42 matches coming into this year’s Six Nations, and suffered a disappointing World Cup, however playing a more pragmatic brand of rugby under Quesada, results have turned around.
He said: “Gonzalo was a kicking fly-half back in the day so he loves a bit of kicking. It was massive for us to sort the kicking structure as we were putting ourselves under pressure a lot in the Six Nations previously. The defence has improved, and the attack has stayed very similar which has allowed us to progress to where we are now. Hopefully, we have a good summer tour and push on to next season.”
