Samurai Rugby rebrands its teams

Samurai Rugby, one of the leading rugby sevens clubs in the world, announced today that it has changed its team operating structure and branding to position it for its next evolution of growth in global rugby.

The changes see the retirement of the Samurai Barracudas and Samurai Bulldogs team names and branding, in favour of Samurai Rugby for its elite first team and Samurai Rugby Academy for its elite development team.

Samurai Rugby is one of the best elite-level invitational clubs in the world, with a unique culture. It has a reputation as one of the most-loved teams to play for but one of the most-feared teams to play against on the international rugby circuit.

Samurai’s Director of Rugby, Terry Sands, says “the Barracudas and Bulldogs brands have served us well over the years, and cumulatively over one thousand players have played many thousands of minutes under those crests. In the process, many happy memories have been created which I’m sure the players will cherish. Samurai’s approach to development and discovery has made it possible for many players to move into top-flight elite rugby, either for country or professional club.

We love the Barracuda and Bulldogs identities, but we must adapt and evolve off the pitch, as we do on it. The rugby sevens landscape is poised for exponential growth, and Samurai Rugby has a significant role to play in that.

The Samurai Rugby & Samurai Rugby Academy squads will continue to compete ferociously, promote our positive culture and values, and enable talent discovery and development in tournaments around the world as before. We believe that a simpler structure and identity will help us raise our game and pursue our mission more powerfully than ever.”

Mark Dean, Samurai Rugby’s Operations Director, adds that the retired Barracudas and Bulldogs playing kit will be donated to 7s clubs in the poorest of developing rugby nations as part of Samurai Rugby’s development mission. “We hope to see a number of very informal Samurai franchises pop up in new and unexpected parts of the world as a result. With the history of those shirts, we expect them to be in high-demand”.

About Samurai Rugby: Samurai Rugby Football Club was founded in 1996, being inspired by the playing spirit and tenacity of the Japanese national rugby team in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Samurai Rugby has gone on to become one of the best 7s clubs in the world. It operates on a purely invitational basis, usually creating a new squad of coaches and players for each tournament, with a win/loss ratio which is the envy of the sport. Squads are usually a mix of professional and amateur players and coaches, but more especially a mix of nationalities with typically at least five or six countries being represented. Players do not get paid for playing and being selected to play for Samurai Rugby is seen as an honour, even for professional players.

CONTACT | Keith Dewar | Communications Director, Samurai Rugby | +44-7780-667777

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Updated 09:50 - 31 Aug 2019 by Sam Urai