Samurai Charity "Lions Lunch" A Success

“Hearing Louise James from the Trust speaking so passionately about the cause really made it for me, such a fantastic effort on the day to raise £2000 for such a great charity!” Ollie Phillips, Host

Samurai International RFC are delighted to announce that, following the successful “Lions Lunch” at the Strand Palace Hotel, the club has raised £2,000 in support of The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Louise James, who represented the Trust at the event, has said that these funds will have a direct impact on the DSWT’s work to protect wildlife in Kenya and could even cover the cost of two rescue operations for orphan elephants in Kenya who are in need of a second chance at the orphanage in Nairobi.

Samurai International have supported The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust since 2015 and are looking forward to running more rugby events to raise funds for them over the coming year. The club’s kit sponsor, Samurai Sportswear, also continues to produce the limited edition replica “Tembo” shirts that are modelled on the playing shirts worn by the Samurai 7s team at the Safari 7s. The “Tembo” shirt design is taken from the Elephant mural painted on the wall of the DSWT orphanage in Nairobi. A 10% contribution from the sale of these shirts also goes to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

The lunch was hosted by broadcaster, adventurer, former England 7s captain and IRB World Series player of the year Ollie Phillips. Ollie was assisted by guest speakers John Bentley and Martyn Williams who had the distinction of being both former Samurai and British & Irish Lions players.

Updated 12:00 - 2 Sep 2019 by Mark Dean