Toso viti Toso!

Samurai Rugby has selected an all-Fijian squad for the famous GFi Hong Kong Rugby 10s tournament on 4-5 April. Samurai Rugby came close to winning the tournament as runners-up in 2010, 2013 and 2016.

Drawing on players from its long-established domestic Fijian team as well as other Fijian clubs, Samurai Rugby hopes to achieve wins over main rivals Penguins and Tradition YCAC, as well as defending champions UBB Gavekal. The increasing professionalism of the teams, with more pro and semi-pro players taking part than ever before, has consolidated the tournament’s status as an elite international competition. The Samurai team, which is an exciting blend of experience and rising stars, will be looking to impress Fiji 7s Head Coach Gareth Barber as they press their cases for opportunities with the national side.

Samurai Rugby’s Director of Rugby, Terry Sands, said “with it being the tenth-anniversary of our Samurai Fiji team, it seemed fitting to select an all-Fijian team for the GFi HK10s. There is so much about Fijian rugby that we admire, the Fijian national 7s team’s performance on the HSBC World Series is testament to that. Our young Fijian Samurai deserve this opportunity for development and recognition on a bigger stage, and we’re excited at the prospect of seeing what they can do.”

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the commitment of Sailosi Naiteqe (former Fiji 7s national selector) to the Samurai Fijian team over the last ten-years, Samurai Rugby could not have achieved what it has without him, and he has worked tirelessly.”

While Samurai Rugby continues to field multi-national teams for tournaments such as Dubai, Amsterdam and Dublin, their ability to field an all-Fijian team for the GFi HK10s reflects the increasingly global nature of their franchise, with a world-wide roster of talented and developing players. For the recent Las Vegas Sevens they were able to field a squad of up and coming mostly US-based players, and in the Independence 7s in Nigeria and the Safari 7s in Kenya Samurai Rugby operated squads comprising African players. Samurai Rugby are currently giving thought to how best to create a presence on the South American continent.

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 frequently 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