HOLLYWOOD EPIC HAS A FAIRYTALE ENDING
IT’S a story that could come straight out of a Hollywood movie and it had its emotional conclusion at Parc y Scarlets last weekend.
Teenager Stephen Varney made his first start for Italy against the land of his birth, Wales, in the final match of the Nations Cup tournament in Llanelli.
In a way, it saw the family story come full circle.
For it was some eight decades ago that his great-grandfather Carlo Fusconi headed for West Wales, sparking a chain of events that was to culminate in Stephen representing the Azzurri.
During World War II, while serving in the Italian army, Carlo was captured in North Africa and brought to Wales, to the Henllan prisoner of war camp, just outside Newcastle Emlyn.
Prisoners were sent out to work on local farms and, after the war, he decided to stay on and settle here. He continued working on farms, with his wife Anita and daughter Adriana coming over from the town of Cesana in Emilia Romagna to join him.
Some years later, in the 1950s, a young man by the name of Luigi Callegari came over from Bedonia, in the mountains of the Parma province, aged 17, along with his cousins to find work.
He met Adriana when they were in their 20s, working on a farm in Cardigan.
They married and they are Stephen’s grandparents, with their daughter, Valeria, being his mum.
So while he was born and bred in Rhoshill, Pembrokeshire, and attended the Welsh-medium school Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych, the young scrum-half has always been very much aware of his Italian roots.
“When I was growing up, we used to go to my grandparents and have Italian food and be part of the culture. So it’s always been part of my life,” he said.
“We would go over quite often to see family in the north of Italy, just south of Venice. We have got cousins and aunties there.
“My middle name is Lorenzo, so everyone has known I have been half-italian since I have been growing up.”
On the Welsh side of the family, rugby was very much in the blood, with his father Adrian having been a tenacious flanker for Neath and Aberavon.
Stephen came up through the junior ranks at Crymych RFC and won the Welsh Schools Under-16s Cup with Ysgol y Preseli in 2017.
He had a couple of outings for Scarlets West U16s, but wasn’t selected to be part of their pathway.
At that point he stopped playing the sport and focused on golf instead.
“I wasn’t enjoying rugby at the time,” he said.
“My dad was playing regularly at the golf club and I went along with him.
“I played with him every weekend and our club called us the Rhoshill bandits because we were playing off high handicaps and winning all the competitions. It was good fun.”
But then the opportunity arose to study sports science at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire.
With that, he resumed his rugby and was subsequently offered a place with the Gloucester RFC Academy, which in turn led to him coming to the attention of the Italian Rugby Federation.
They invited him to Treviso for a training camp and the journey has gone from there, with appearances for Italy’s under-18s and under-20s, including impressive outings against Wales.
A call-up to the senior squad for this autumn’s international campaign followed, only for him to be struck down by Covid-19.
“That was not a great experience, but I didn’t have any symptoms luckily,” he said.
“The worst thing was being stuck in the room for 10 days. I had a watt bike and dumb-bells, so I kept myself busy.
“It was tough, though, and when I came out, mentally and physically, I struggled in the first training session back.
“I didn’t feel fit, but that was expected.”
Having fully recovered, the 19-year-old made his Test debut as a replacement against Scotland in
Florence last month.
“The Italian Federation have been loyal to me and respected me,” he said.
“They have been good to me throughout my time with them.”
Another appearance as a sub followed against France when he became the centre of attention through Nigel Owens giving him instructions in Welsh.
“There was a tweet about it the night before and I think he probably looked at that,” said Varney.
“I sort of expected him to speak Welsh because he spoke Welsh to me before the game.
“I saw it coming. I responded once in Welsh, but didn’t speak back to him.”
Then came the big one, a first Test start and against the country where he was born and bred.
“It will be emotional, but I chose to play for Italy, so that’s where my loyalties lie now,” he said before the game.
“When I found out I was starting, I rang my parents to tell them after training and they were super proud.
“They were very emotional at the time. They are very proud parents. My grandparents are also very proud. So are all my family in Italy.”
Speaking about his father Adrian, he said: “He has been a massive influence on my development.
“Ever since I was young, he has encouraged me to play any kind of sport and has helped me with my skills growing up.
“We would be passing in the corridor, breaking lights.
“He made sure I was a back because he knows how rough it is in the back row.”