Shogun RFC was founded by Terry Sands in 1996, being inspired by the playing spirit and tenacity of the Japanese national rugby team in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Originally named Samurai RFC it changed to Shogun in 2024: The name may have changed but the heritage and culture that had made the club so … Read more Shogun RFC
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I fundraise regularly for The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Kerslake Robshaw Foundation and Caring For Animals through events and challenges. Previously I have fundraised for Lighthouse Club, Wooden Spoon, Camp Quality and Community Action Nepal
Inevitably in life there will be set backs. Unfortunately my planned expedition to Kilimanjaro this summer has been scuppered not only my own pre-existing injuries but by my travel companion and wife, Buffy, suffering a completely unexpected Sub Arachnoid Haemorrhage in January leading to an extended stay in St George’s Neurological ICU.
What that means is that, for now, the summit of Kilimanjaro will remain an allusive dream. It will happen, just not this year.
My wife’s recovery will take an as yet undetermined amount of time and getting her fit and well will obviously be our focus in 2024. This situation does give me a chance to regroup and address a few health issues of my own. This is, in hindsight, a good thing as for too long have I struggled with a bilateral Inguinal Hernia which along with some Mental Health issues have meant that, as a friend recently pointed out, my weight is a little high (144Kg).
So the new plan for 2024 is: Get fixed, get healthy and then get fit. Target of 110Kg and BMI under 35 (plus lower cholesterol etc etc)
I’m looking forward to being more flexible, pain free (I cannot actually remember what that feels like), leaner and conditioned enough to see my……..feet and living a healthier lifestyle.
As the 2024 Melrose 7s approaches, I find myself reflecting on an incredible journey that began with a simple phone call in 2007. After seventeen years serving on the organizing committee of one of rugby’s most prestigious clubs, including my role as Operations Director, it’s time to pass on the jersey as Samurai transforms into Shogun Rugby.
The symmetry of seventeen years isn’t lost on me. It was always my chosen shirt number during my playing days – certainly not the most distinguished career, but one that led me to where I am today. Though I’m stepping back from operations, I’ll continue supporting the club as Vice President and fundraiser, roles that feel more crucial than ever during this transition.
Terry Sands’ call in 2007 opened the door to an extraordinary privilege: working alongside the world’s finest sevens coaches and players. The club’s achievements during this period have been nothing short of remarkable, with tournament victories spanning six continents. From the electric atmosphere of the Dubai 7s to the historic grounds of Melrose, from the beaches of Punta Del Este to the heights of Hong Kong, we’ve left our mark on every corner of the rugby world.
The #SamuraiFamily at the London 7s in 2017
The list of teams and players we’ve faced reads like a who’s who of international sevens rugby: South Africa, Kenya, Argentina, England, and countless others who’ve helped shape the sport’s landscape. But it’s not just about the matches or the trophies – it’s about the people who made it all possible.
The players from all over the World whose careers have benefitted from being part of the #SamuraiFamily are too inumerable to mention. Better to say that Samurai players,both men and women, have represented over forty nations: winning awards and medals on the World Series, the Commonwealth Games, The Olympics and at Rugby World Cups.
I’m indebted to the club stalwarts who welcomed me into the Samurai family. Terry and Rose Sands, Mike Friday, Fahad Adil, Nick Wakley, and so many others who’ve contributed to this remarkable story. Each person brought their own unique energy and dedication to the club, creating something truly special. I am particuarly indebted to the late, great, Colin Hillman who convinced me I had something to contribute after my first tour to Amsterdam didn’t go as well as I had hoped.
This reflection wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the two people who introduced me to Samurai RFC. A friend of mine Joe O’Keefe, a team mate at Old Mid-Whitgiftian RFC and former Millfield 7s captain, put me in touch with his good friend Tommy Dann a talented player from Cambridge and Northampton Saints who gave Terry Sands my phone number which started the whole adventure. Without Joe and Tommy making those introductions I would never have got involved with Samurai and I am eternally grateful for the opportunities they opened up for me. Tragically Tommy died by suicide on the 18th February 2021 and it pains me that I never got to tell him how much his kind introduction has changed my life for the better and how grateful I was to him for that.
Amsterdam 7s 2007
As I prepare to step away from my operational role, I’m filled with gratitude for the experiences, friendships, and memories that have shaped who I’ve become. Seventeen years, countless tournaments, and innumerable friendships later, I know this isn’t goodbye – it’s simply the beginning of a new chapter in my ongoing relationship with this extraordinary club.
“When the playing is done, the boots hung up and the tours over the most important thing is the friends you made along the way.”
The jersey may be changing hands, but the spirit of what we’ve built together will continue to thrive. Here’s to the next generation of leaders who will write their own chapters in this remarkable story.
GB7’s 2013 round 3, Allianz Park – London – 15/06/13 – MANDATORY CREDIT: Helen Watson
You’d have thought I’d have learned by now. “What the fuck were you thinking?” I ask myself as the reality of what I’ve agreed to sets in. Not only have I agreed to climb a stupidly big hill again, all in the name of a good cause naturally, but because the original group leader has had to step away I’ve ended up agreeing to pull the trip together as well. At least I’m not playing rugby up there this time.
Since Everest in 2019 I’ve done the square root of fuck all to keep myself in shape. The pressures of Covid, work, Samurai, Wooden Spoon and my complete lack of ability to say no to anyone has meant that, without, exception I am in the worst physical shape of my life. The only thing worse than my physical health is my mental health, and, like all mal-adjusted men I have “solved” that problem by drinking my ever increasing body weight in exceptional red wine, crisp gin and cheap rum.
“Why can’t I just, for once, attempt one of these challenges from a solid level of fitness?” I ask, “Why can’t I just, for once, make this shit easy for myself?”. Nick Wakley, a good friend of mine, once told me that I had the mind set and resilience of an International rugby sevens player and the body mass of two of them. I’m not sure about the first bit but the second bit is currently spot on.
“Deano you’ve got the mind set and resilience of an International rugby sevens player and the body mass of two of them.”
Nick Wakley
I’m 45, 4 years older than when I last went to any real altitude. I’ve had Covid at least twice and one of those times was pretty nasty on lungs. Mentally and physically I’m exhausted and quite frankly you could flip a coin on whether my mind or body fails first. To be able to summit I’ll need to be fitter than I was in 2019 not least because of the increased distance but also because any semblance of youth has since deserted me. I’m firmly middle aged and where stubbornness used to get me out of trouble its not going to be enough this time.
So enough of the hand wringing and whining: time to sort my shit out and embrace the challenge and the huge positives of undertaking it.
So why am I going to climb Kilimanjaro? Top of the list is the fact I am, finally, getting to go on an expedition with my wife. Previously all the challenges I’ve undertaken have been during term time and as my wife is a teacher that prevents her from joining in. This time however the climb is during the school summer break which means she can join me in Tanzania.
Then you’ve got the obvious stuff: the incredible view, the fact it is in East Africa which is one of my favourite places, it’s one of the seven summits, the dramatic change of scenery from savannah to rainforest to tundra, its almost legendary status in global culture and then the fact that I’ve wanted to climb there since I was about ten.
Lastly its all going to be to raise money for a good cause. As Kili’ sits on the border between Tanzania and Kenya and towers over the national park of Amboselli it makes sense for me to raise money for the incredible Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT).
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates several wildlife conservation projects, with a primary emphasis on elephant conservation. They have established the world’s most successful elephant orphanage, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The orphanage rescues and cares for orphaned baby elephants, often victims of poaching, human-wildlife conflict, or natural disasters. The elephants are raised with specialized care, including round-the-clock attention, nourishment, and veterinary support until they can be re-integrated into wild elephant populations.
Orphan elephants at the Nairobi orphanage
In addition to their elephant-focused efforts, SWT also works to conserve other endangered species, such as rhinos and giraffes, and runs various community outreach and anti-poaching initiatives. Their work not only aids the individual animals in their care but also contributes to broader conservation and ecological efforts in Kenya and beyond.
If you’ve enjoyed my ramblings and if you are in a position to do so please consider donating to the SWT by clicking here
As I’ve said previously, Buffy and I are climbing Kilimanjaro to raise money for The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the first step towards hitting our initial £5000 target was to run a charity dinner at the always fabulous Gurkha Kitchen in Oxted.
To entice the locals out on a Monday night who better than Bath, England and Lions legend Lee Mears and Wales, Lions and Golfing legend Andy Powell. The two rugby men took questions from the room about everything from the upcoming Rugby World Cup, favourite tour memories, the state of the game and their favourite service stations on the M4. The auction and raffle raised an incredible £2000 for the charity and got us a good start on the way to our target.
I’d like to offer a huge thank you to all those who attended, to Lee Mears and Andy Powell who entertained the room, to my brother Andrew for providing some very generous prizes and to Purna Gurung and the amazing team at The Gurkha Kitchen for hosting the whole thing!
To prove that sevens players can also be a dab hand at the full version of the game I set out to pick a fifteen a side team from the Samurai RFC former players list. To make sure it reflected the International nature of the club I only allowed myself to pick one player from a nation and that player had to have played in that position in International fifteens for their nation. So without further ado……
1. Hubert Buydens (Canada)
2. Oliviero Fabiani (Italy)
3. Timote Tavalea (Tonga)
4. Nick Easter (England)
5. Raef Morrison (Hong Kong)
6. Malon Al Jiboori (USA)
7. Sam Cane (New Zealand)
8. Andrew Amonde (Kenya)
9. Pedro Leal (Portugal)
10.Callum Sheedy (Wales)
11. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
12. Phillip Wokorach (Uganda)
13. Oriol Ripol (Spain)
14. Nemani Nadolo (Fiji)
15. Darcy Graham (Scotland)
Honourable Mentions:
Here are a few of the players, and their respective nations, who just missed out:
Adil Achabar (10) – Maroc, Anton Petrowitsch (7) – Chile, Henry Speight (14) – Australia, Taulupe Faletau (8) – Wales, Joe Ajuwa (11) – Nigeria
It feels great to be able to start planning and undertaking challenges now that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be behind us. It gives me the opportunity to start on the series of challenges I set myself and to start fundraising for a fantastic group of charities.
First up is to take on my long held desire to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak on Africa, it makes up one of the the seven summits and is also the highest free standing mountain, above sea level, in the World. It has inspired countless expeditions, films, novels and pieces of art and is part of the fabric of East African culture. The Maasai call it’s snow covered, 19340 foot high, western summit ‘Ngaje Ngai’: the House of God.
I’ve set myself a target of £2500, which I hope to exceed, which will go to help the work of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust with their ongoing efforts to rescue and rehabilitate Elephants and Rhino in East Africa. As with all the challenges I undertake I cover the entire cost of the trip myself and every single penny raised goes to the charity.
I have supported the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust since I had the privilege of visiting their orphanage in Nairobi in 2009. Since then, as several friends and a host of nieces and nephews can attest, I have “adopted” dozens of orphan elephants and I have been very fortunate to have been able to visit them in person when attending the Safari 7s in Kenya. I also visited the orphanage in 2014 when I was on honeymoon so I am delighted that, finally after years of dropping me off and picking me up from airports, my fabulous supportive wife is going to be coming with me on this particular challenge.
I will endeavour to keep you updated with how the preparation and fundraising is going before the challenge in July and August 2024 but to get things started please follow this blog and, if you can, donate to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust here
If you would like to join the challenge please follow me and then DM via this site
After the limited opportunities for travel over the last few years it felt strange planning a get away to Iceland. A definite plus was that I was going away with my long suffering wife who was more used to dropping me to the airport to go galivanting around the world than actually getting on a plane with me! Iceland had long been on both our wish lists and it made perfect sense to get over there in October as the odds of seeing the elusive “Northern Lights” were better than most other times of year.
It felt a relief to get away and see somewhere new – I’d briefly stopped at Keflavik over twenty years ago but Iceland was still unexplored territory for me. The trip was reasonably brief and we were cramming a awful lot into a five days: I’d always wanted to see the, geologically speaking, youthful landscape of Iceland. I also hoped to see the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, and ideally manage to film or photograph them. The rest of the trip would consist of getting some down time, away from the rigours of our jobs, and experience the culture and hospitality of a people I knew very little about.
If your idea of a great time is being bussed from one stunningly beautiful Icelandic scene to another then you should definitely go with Rekjavik Excursions. They are extremely well organised and the staff, like Eric (Originally from Barcelona) and Verena (a miniature Icelandic warrior princess), are brilliant at engaging the groups they guide. If, like me, you prefer a more bespoke approach then do your research and hire a car. Hopefully my ramblings below might give a basic insight to what the South West, around the Rekyavik Capital Area, has to offer.
The Golden Circle
The Golden Circle is a chance to see a number of amazing sights not least of which is the breathtaking waterfall Gullfoss, or “golden waterfall” in Icelandic, which the route takes it name from. The waterfall itself has multiple viewing platforms (be careful the rocks do get slippery in bad weather) but my recommendation, particularly if you are trying to get that epic photo, is to view from the far right back up the gorge towards the waterfall itself.
Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall) on a beautifully sunny day……
You also get to visit Þingvellir National Park, where you can see the fault lines caused by the Mid Atlantic Ridge spreading zone and set foot on both the Eurasian plate and the North American plate within a few metres, and the active geothermal area at Haukadalur. The main attraction at Haukdalur is the geyser Strokkur which erupts every 5-7 minutes to varying heights and the inevitable oohs and aahs of the gathered crowds
Strokkur
Walking Along The Fault Line
Tomatoes
For some reason Fridheimar tomato farm is a tourist attraction in Iceland. Sure, its kind of cool that they can heat greenhouses using geothermal energy, that they produce most of the tomatoes sold in Iceland and that they import bees from The Netherlands to pollinate those tomatoes. But a tomato farm as a routine tourist bus stop, really? You should definitely go there: the Bloody Mary they serve there is comfortably the best I’ve ever had.
You should definitely go there: the Bloody Mary they serve there is comfortably the best I’ve ever had
Mark Dean
The Icelandic Sagas
It is definitely worth reading the collected Icelandic Sagas although they do get pretty dark and weird quite quickly. If you are in Reykjavik it is also worth going to the Saga Museum and following the audio guide through the exhibits.
As tragic as Shakespeare, as colourful as The Canterbury Tales, as enduring as Beowulf, as epic as The Iliad and eminently more readable than The Holy Bible
Ben Myers, The Guardian
Eating Out
If you go to Iceland for Odin’s sake do not try the fucking terrible all you can eat “American Style” buffets put on by so many of the hotels. In fact, avoid eating in the hotels altogether. Reykjavik has a number of incredible restaurants and you should definitely go to these rather than places designed to sell mass produced shit food to large groups of Chets and Dwights from Assbucket, Virginia. Top of my list would be to try the Rekjavik Kitchen or any of the places (Krost, Sakl etc) in the Hlemmur Food Hall where the food is both very contemporary but decidedly Icelandic.
Rekjavik Kitchen
Whale Watching
Firstly it is brilliant that Iceland has finally woken up to the fact that people will pay a shit load more money for the chance to see whales than to fucking eat them: So well done indeed. We went out on a whale watching tour with a company called Elding who run numerous boats out of Reykjavik and whose guides are experienced Marine Biologists who actually know what they are talking about. You can book in advance or just chance your arm and walk up and book at the quayside.
Before you get on a ship to go looking for large aquatic mammals here are some tips:
Whale watching requires you to get on a boat so take the sea sickness tablets you are offered and don’t be a macho dick.
Wear thermals and take a fleece, windproof, hat and gloves as a minimum: it gets bloody cold.
Put the camera strap around your neck because if you drop the camera over the side you will lose your shit, nobody can help you but they will laugh at you.
You will struggle to get any decent photos so stick your camera on the “moving objects” setting and hope for the best.
Given most of your photos will be shite remember to put the camera down and watch the animals as well. Mankind is hell bent on killing most of them so get a good look so you can tell your grandkids what these now mythical beasts actually looked like.
Learn to speak whale by watching Finding Nemo before you go.
You probably wont see any whales but you will probably will see dolphins or porpoise. This is still cool. Whining is not attractive.
If whales, dolphins or other marine mammals appear don’t push to the front and walk in front of everyone else. This makes you a dick
The Aurora Borealis
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) is a shoe in for almost everyone’s bucket list. They are also, seemingly, rarer than rocking horse shit. The most likely thing you will see when out at night looking for your elusive glimpse of this incredible natural phenomena is groups, numbering in the hundreds, of tourists standing around in car parks with no concept of personal space, an IQ so low they either cannot operate their camera/phone or they think that the flash will somehow help and manners so lacking that they assume that their need to use an electrical device whilst walking in front of everyone else with what appears to be a search light strapped to their empty cranium is perfectly ok. My advice? Wait until all the coach loads of fuckwits and arseholes are safely back in bed and head out around midnight in your own vehicle after checking the Icelandic equivalent of the Met Office here to find the best areas to try from. Good luck.
Captured (Just) by a 14-28mm Nikkor F2.8 lens on a 20 second exposure. Helped immensely by the bellends bottom left.
When you go somewhere as breathtakingly beautiful as Iceland it is perfectly normal to want to capture that on film (maybe not to the extent of the Instagram “influencers” but hey each to their own) so what I will say is that, unless you are a pro photographer, it is incredibly difficult to get truly great photos when a) the weather is crap or b) their is no solar activity. When these things happen, which is unfortunately more than likely given the climate in Iceland, then step out from behind the camera and enjoy just being in an almost unspoilt tundra and arctic wilderness. Unless you work for National Geographic its why you are there in the first place and your friends and family can either go themselves or use their bloody imagination.
Apparently the Northern Lights were amazing the night after we left and were visible in The Netherlands a few days later. Bastards.
Ok so I’m probably obsessing about the Southern half of the planet at this point but for some reason I googled what point of land, outside of Antarctica, was furthest south and got the answer South Georgia. At that point the world suddenly shrank dramatically. It turned out the only way to get to South Georgia is by sea and a few further google searches revealed that unless you want to go by cruise ship you pretty much need to sail there on a yacht from The Falkland Islands or the bottom of South America. As you can probably guess it is not like there are loads of yachts just waiting around for charter in Port Stanley but there was quite a lot of information readily available about the yachts that are based in that part of the world. One yacht, called Pelagic, immediately drew my attention and for all the right reasons.
The reason I remembered a yacht called Pelagic is because an old friend, who I haven’t seen for almost fifteen years, was the skipper. Sure enough I soon found several articles about the yacht Pelagic and her long term skipper called Magnus Day. Magnus and I worked together delivering events for the likes of Ingenius, Concerto and VAK Design in the mid noughties and lost touch when he left to pursue his love of sailing. I tried his old contact details but figured they were probably long out of date. I did some digging and came across a few possible email addresses on the websites of some of the yacht charter firms he worked for. There was of course the fact there was a pretty decent chance he wouldn’t remember me anyway but I thought “why the hell not” and pinged off an email to all the email addresses I had found for him. I was not really expecting a response but figured I had nothing to lose. To my surprise less than 20 minutes later Mag replied by email, from where he was currently living in Ontario, while taking a break from shovelling snow off his drive. Swapping numbers I called him on WhatsApp and after a long overdue catch up I told him what I had in mind.
Magnus Day
Having spoken to Magnus and talked through some of the disorganised ideas swirling around in my head things suddenly became much clearer. I followed it up with a conversation with my partner in crime Paul Jordan who, being used to my half baked ideas, always gives sound advice on what is, or is not, realistic. Jordy was very positive about the whole thing, apart from the distinct lack of wineries, and suggested a few elements that added to the story we could try and tell about yacht races, the vast southern ocean, unspoilt islands, snow capped mountains, shades of Shackleton on a fantastic adventure and bona fide challenge to boot: Out from Chile, The Cape Horn Monument, Elephant Island, South Georgia, Over the mountains to Grytviken, Shackleton’s grave, Falklands & Home
“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking.”
John Masefield
I’m not sure whether this would even work or if anyone else would be up for it but maybe with fair winds and following seas it’s a challenge for the future.
At the 2021 edition of the Amsterdam 7s, had it gone ahead, Samurai RFC turned 25 years old. An amateur invitational team formed by former England manager Terry Sands in 1996 as a favour to the Amsterdam tournament organisers: Samurai RFC have become the standard by which all invitational rugby sevens teams are judged around the World.
The first ever team wasn’t too shabby. It contained the then unknown Martyn Williams alongside the likes Mike Boys and Chris Wyatt. The management team wasn’t bad either with Colin Hillman, Bob Reeves and Terry Sands all running the show.
Samurai RFC win their first ever tournament, the Amsterdam 7s, in 1996
Since then the club has identified and given opportunities to players from all over the World with a former players list that, from a rugby sevens perspective, is beyond compare. In fact only the Barbarians or British & Irish Lions, also invitational sides, come close to the sheer numbers of world class players to pull on their famous jerseys.
Now I will prefix what I say next with: I am clearly biased. In my opinion Samurai RFC is the most successful invitational rugby sevens club in the World. Now in my defense I can actually back up that claim with cold hard facts.
Samurai RFC Trophy Cabinet 1996-2021
Samurai RFC have helped to produce Internationals, Olympians, Series record holders, World Players of the Year and top level coaches: below is snapshot of some of those achievements in the club’s 25th year.
Samurai RFC in numbers in 2021
At the club’s 20th Anniversary they could boast that over 70 of the players and staff present at the at the WSS London 7s were part of the #SamuraiFamily representing thirteen different nations.
Gathering of Samurai RFC at London 7s in 2016
Samurai RFC Player Testimonials 2021
Samurai RFC Coach Testimonials 2021
As we begin the 2022 sevens season, including a delayed 25th party at the Amsterdam 7s, I am excited about what the next 25 years holds for this unique rugby club.
Deano's World 