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LATEST NEWS 2005-2006

 Archive 2007 2005/2006 2004/2005 2003/2004 2002/2003

Bangkok - Samurai Slip Up At The Final Hurdle

After another outstanding 7s season the ULR Samurai team came so close but just a little too far in securing the Bangkok 7s in their first attempt.

During the pool stages of the competition the new look ULR Samurai team started to blend well and were gaining in confidence as each game progressed. Wins over the Thai Police, Cairns and invitation side Lloyd McDermott took them to the final.

In the final they faced they the tournament favourites in a very strong Eric Rush led North Harbour side.

The final kicked off at a fast and furious pace and North Harbour scored after only 2 mins of the 10 minute each way final. The young Samurai team struggled to gain quality possession as the big powerful Kiwi’s dominated in the contact area.
Samurai remained competitive but went into half time 21 – 7 in arrears.

Almost immediately from the restart Ed Burrill pulled a try back to make the score a respectable 21 – 14 but then after a poor restart North Harbour recycled the ball and after some great handling and support play increased their lead to 26 – 14. With both sides tiring due to the hot and humid conditions mistakes started to creep into the game. Harbour added a converted try with 2 minutes left and then Jonathon Hooper scored a well taken consolation try to bring the final score to 33 – 19.

All things considered this was an excellent performance from a totally committed Samurai team that included several new faces.

Dubai - Great Performance By Young Guns

An American Express sponsored Samurai St George team entered this years Dubai 7s International Invitation Tournament, with team selection and Management being supported by Mike Friday the England 7s Coach.

Friday considered the tournament to be an ideal opportunity to look at some of his wider squad Academy players in a competitive match environment at an International venue and this he did. Friday was also able to give some much needed match practice to 2 Senior players in Dan Luger and Paul Sampson who assisted with the Coaching of the team during the tournament.

The Samurai St George team acquitted themselves very well in both the Pool Stages and the ¼ Final over a period of 3 days however it was a bitter blow when they lost Bath Academy player Nick Abendanon with a suspected broken ankle. Abendanon had put in some fine performances in the early stages and became an important ingredient.

In the semi Final the team faced a big ask as they took on 1 of the tournament favourites Christina Nobel Select. The CN team contained many experienced invitation 7s players from all over the World and in the end that little bit of extra experience together with a little bit of lady luck paid dividends. Christina Noble running out winners 26 – 17.

Thanks must go to the many Directors of Rugby and Academy Directors that allowed their young players to take part in this prestigious tournament. It is without doubt that the players would have benefited from the experience.

August 7th Sevens

With many clubs using this weekend as their first pre season trial games. Player availability was never going to be good for either of the 2 Samurai teams participating on the 7th.August. However it was a great opportunity to look at a few new faces with a view to future selection.

At Cwmtawe it was clearly a classic case of ‘would have, could have and should have’ as we lost a close fought semi final against the Tongan Wizards 19 – 15. After being ahead for most of the game and losing in the last seconds a harsh selection lesson was learned.
The Tongan team had played a physical style of Sevens all afternoon and the Samurai teams failure to use their outstanding pace out wide proved to be their downfall.
The Tongan Wizards went on to beat Swansea convincingly in the final 42 – 0.

It was a very young side that The Samurai St George team entered into a strong Henley 7s competition. Under the excellent guidance of Mike Friday and Phil Greening the players were bound to gain some valuable experience.
St George disposed of the ‘home team’ Henley Hawks in the first game but then faced the eventual winners Penzance Pirates in the next round. The Pirates mix of pace and power was just too much for the St George’s youngsters but they would definitely benefit from the experience.

So a day of mixed fortune but even now the Samurai’s must look back just a few weeks where they secured the trophies for the ‘big 3’ sevens tournaments of the Summer when they won Amsterdam, Rome and Cayman.

Next stop Harpenden where player availability, on the first weekend of the Rugby season, may prove to be even more difficult.


 

    
Samurai Make It 3 In A Row

The Samurai 7s team added to their already successful season as they added the Roma 7s and the Cayman Island 7s tournaments to their victory in Amsterdam.

The Samurai handed out 2 new caps to players for the Roma 7s with Mark Easter & Matt Vaughan both proving worthy additions to the ever increasing Samurai player pool. The Samurai team certainly had the tough side of the draw facing Mels Exiles, Spain and the French Froggies on the way to the final.
However the team performed admirably throughout with great team spirit and passion that helped them put together some fantastic performances.
Samurai faced the fancied Seven Kings of Rome side that contained several Italian internationals as well other specialist sevens exponents. Despite the performances from the 7 Kings team up to the final. They faced an in form Samurai team that never allowed them to play. The Samurai’s kicked off at a fantastic pace using all of their skills and power to great effect. They went 3 tries up after only 2 minutes and 7 Kings new immediately they were never going to win this game. Everyone in the Samurai squad performed unbelievably well with James Matthias in particular outstanding as the team went on to 66 unanswered points.

Next stop Cayman Islands.
With Samurai winning the tournament in 2003 and Red Rock in 2004 the team’s management decided to combine resources for 2005. As is always the case at Cayman the competition was very strong indeed. The British Army were present and were committed to try to add the one trophy still missing from their trophy cabinet to their impressive roll of honours. The Marauders, Ombac, West Indies and Rugby Ecosse were also intent on winning the coveted Cayman trophy.
Team managers Lote Rasiga and Cameron Waghorn worked in unison to make sure the players every need was catered for. As the tournament went on the preparation paid dividends.
The team played with fantastic skill and flair as they disposed of the Marauders and the British Army in the 1/4s and Semi Finals.
Next up was yet another difficult game as they faced Rugby Ecosse in the final. The Ecosse team made up entirely of Scotland 7s players proved a tough nut to crack but the samurais Fijian contingent worked their magic to run out deserved winners by 19 points to 10.
Yet again a great team performance by an experienced Samurai team as they made it 3 tournament wins in succession.

Next up Henley and Cwmtawe…….Can they win again ?
It’s not going to be easy with the opposition intent on putting and end to the team’s very impressive run.

Watch this space.

 		    
Win Double For Samurai Teams At Amsterdam Sevens

In a great weekend of Sevens Rugby, The Samurai International RFC Men’s and Ladies teams made history as both teams were victorious in both main competitions at the 2005 Amsterdam sevens. Both teams produced some excellent performances during the 2 days of competition and were both worthy winners of a strong tournament.

This years Amsterdam 7s was possibly the toughest ever, as the opposition was of a very high standard. With 12 pools consisting of 5 teams there was many exciting games for the rugby enthusiast.

Saturdays Pool games went well for the Samurai Men as they disposed of Scufflers, Les Halluciants, Waterland and Diok Barbarians to become 1st seeds for Sundays knockout stages. Samurai then faced Dutch 7s champions Hilversum and the White Hart Marauders in the Silver Pier main competition on Sunday. After 2 excellent games Samurai came through well and managed to finally dispose of the Marauders 33 - 5, the win however proved costly as they unfortunately lost the services of Wasp’s speedster Thom Evans to injury.

The games became harder and harder and Samurai now faced Jedi in the ¼ final. Straight from the kick off the Jedi team shocked the Samurai team into life as Kai Horstman drove over in the corner for Jedi to take a 7 – 0 lead. The game was well balanced right up to half time with Jedi going into the break 19 – 17 up. Straight from the re-start Samurai imposed themselves with Ex Australian 7s Captain Tim Walsh dominating proceedings.
Leeds Academy youngster Rob Vickerman, Rotherham’s David Strettle and London Irish’s Kev Barratt all scored tries as Samurai ran out 31 – 21 Winners.

Next up came a Backstabbers team with an excellent Sevens tradition. On a large pitch the Backstabbers team could not quite find an answer to Samurai’s power and pace.
With Gareth Gravel joining Thom Evans on the injury list the Samurai team pulled together well. Walsh was again dominating proceedings behind the Scrum with Russell Earnshaw leading by example in the pack. Tries from Barratt, Strettle, Fitzgerald and Worrall pushed Samurai forwards into the final with a 28 – 12 win.

Samurai now faced the ultimate test. The ‘Mels Vanua Exiles’ team consisted entirely of Fijians with all of them having played for the successful British Army 7s Team. Would a 10-minute each way final be a bridge to far for this exciting Samurai Team ?

The game kicked off with a totally committed Samurai team absolutely starving Exiles of possession for almost 7 minutes of faultless 7s rugby. Craig Hammond, Rob Vickerman and Russell Earnshaw were winning every phase retaining ball and using it in the most efficient manner. As Samurai raced into a 21 – 0 lead with tries from Barratt, Strettle and Ken Morriss. The Exiles team must have wondered what they could do to win ball. Finally from a Midfield Scrum they obtained possession and after several passes Sol Roko went over in the corner. With the half time score at 26 – 5 and still 10 minutes to play, the Samurai team knew the competent Fijian team were very capable of a come back.

Joe Kava won ball from the kick off and after a string of passes Bulumakau bought the Exiles to within 2 scores making the score 26 – 14. With the Samurai’s now sensing danger they upped the anti and tightened the noose. Man of the tournament David Strettle, unleashed his speed scoring 2 devastating tries in quick succession to keep Exiles at bay. Samurai made 2 substitutions but with such a strong bench were never in danger of weakening the team. The Exiles managed to pull back 2 tries, shortly before Tim Walsh converted his own try to make the final score 47 – 28 to the Samurai.
The now famous Silver Pier Trophy was on its way back with the Samurai for the 4th time.

The final of the Amsterdam sevens Women’s competition was won in convincing style by the Samurai ladies team. The team, Captained by Welsh International Non Evans, romped to victory in the 2 day competition.
The route to the final was an expected one however the ladies semi final between Henley Ladies and Samurai Ladies was quite a tense affair. The game was not quite as close as the scoreline suggests but the team was still given a shock by an adventurous Henley team. Samurai took the spoils with 19 – 14 victory with tries from Non Evans, Suzy Appleby and Fiona Wise.

The Ladies final became one way traffic as the Samurai Woman powered there way to a 60 – 0 victory against Dutch side W.O.P. In their defence however the Dutch side never dropped their heads and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Sevens history was made in this fantastic 2005 tournament where the Samurai International RFC men’s team became the most successful team ever in the events 34 year history. Will an invitation team ever emulate this unbelievable Men’s and Woman’s Double tournament victory?

Long live the Samurai.

 		  

Travis Perkins Sevens - North Walsham RFC - May 1st 2005

The ULR Samurai International Team relinquished their hold on the Travis Perkins trophy on Sunday, but took some consolation in only losing out to the St George Samurai Team.

The ULR Samurai team disposed of SAA a South African Invitation side and then Cambridge University in their Pool games. They then faced the Fijian Cavaliers in the quarterfinal who proved to be a tough test for the slightly misfiring Samurai team. Samurai secured a semi final place in the dyeing seconds with a try from Tim Walsh in the far corner.

Unfortunately both Samurai International and the St George Samurai Team – that consists entirely of young English players – were in the                                            same side of the pool. This of course meant that both the pre-tournament favorites would face each other prior to the final.

A tough contest was anticipated for the semi final and anticipations were proved correct as the lead changed at regular intervals. The game went to the wire with St Georges Topsy Ojo scoring the winning try with a minute left as the Internationals went down

19 – 14.

St George faced the Tournaments surprise package the Scorpions in the Final and the Scorpions had certainly reached the final the hard way, having disposed of Northampton and Leicester on their way.

The 10-minute each way final started at a fast and furious pace with Dominic Shaboo handing the lead to St George. There was then a period of great defence by both sides but Topsy Ojo again scored under the post after some great phase play. With the score at

12 – 0 to St George the Scorpions pulled a score back by their electric winger Richard Carter ably converted by Austin Howells. It was then all St George as the Scorpions started to tire. The young legs of the St George team featuring players from the academies of several premiership clubs, proved just to strong for the Scorpions.

The final score ending 47 – 17 to St George. 

Teams.  
ULR Samurai International RFC     St George Samurai
Jim Jenner  Will Matthews
James Matthias  Simon Worrall
Rhys Jones Rob Vickerman
Craig Hammond   Chris Cracknell
Llyr Lane   Lee Dickson
Gert De Kok   Ben Foden
Tim Walsh   Ben Harvey
Simon Hunt    Dominic Shaboo
Will Kershaw Naylor   Topsy Ojo
Vessells Wolmerans  Warren Coles
Jon Hampsey

 

    
Samurai International RFC v Southern Hemisphere Select

A Samurai XVs team will take the field for the first time on 28th May, as they take on a Southern Hemisphere Sports team at Richmond Athletic ground. Kick off 1.00pm.

The game takes place in South West London on a day when only 2 hours later England take on the Barbarians just a couple of miles down the road at Twickenham Stadium.

It is expected that the Samurai team will field a strong side that will be selected entirely from Northern Hemisphere players. John Bentley and John Devereaux are also expected to take part, together with players from the English and Welsh 1st Division.

The team will be coached by Colin Hillman from Wales and Managed by Terry Sands.

The Southern Hemisphere Sports team will also field a very strong line up, with several ex Internationals expected to turn out amongst other hardened competitors.

A large crowd is expected as spectators will take the opportunity of having a Beer whilst watching a free flowing exciting game of Rugby, prior to moving just down the road to take their seats at Twickenham Stadium.

The match has been sponsored by ‘The Church’ in Kentish Town and free entrance tickets will be available inside the ground for Sunday’s event.

All of the net proceeds from the match will go to charity.


 

   

Hong Kong 10s 2005 Report

The RHK / ULR sponsored Samurai team entered the tournament for the 3rd consecutive year, but again bowed out at the semi Final stage of this tough competition.

 In the pool games they disposed of Chinese Universities and the Northern Monkey Miners as both games proved to be of a good standard and were highly competitive.

 A last minute call off from Joust Van der Westhuizen due to TV commitments did not help the Samurai cause, although Gordon Johnson from the Boland Cavaliers proved to be an excellent deputy. Fly half Tim Walsh made his Samurai debut and he proved to be inspirational throughout.

 In the quarterfinal Samurai faced a strong Aviva International Panther side that included Junior Tonu’u and Toutai Kefu amongst others. The game proved to be very physical but tries from Simon Hunt, Gordon Johnson, Gareth Gravell and Mike Powell see the Samurai team through to the Semi for the 3rd year in succession.

The win unfortunately came at a price as the Samurai captain Jim Jenner was to play no further part in the tournament due to a badly cut cheek.

 The Samurai Semi Final was an all-Northern hemisphere affair for the first time, as Samurai took on their great adversaries the Skandia Marauders. The Marauders team was also a strong one with the inclusion of 5 Fijians that were on standby for the Fijian World Cup 7s team.

The game started at a fast and furious pace and Samurai took the lead 7 -0 through the Samurai’s player of the tournament, Simon Hunt.

Unfortunately the Samurai team started to lose a little discipline as several 50/50 decisions went against them. The contact area became very scrappy but in typical Fijian fashion the Islanders started to control this aspect of the game, as they always seemed to have a ‘hand’ in proceedings. Marauders then scored 2 quick tries in succession to go into half time 14 – 7 up. 

The second half continued as the 1st had ended in much the same vein. The Marauders Kevin Barratt seemed to be involved in everything good and as he pressurised Johnson around the base of a Samurai scrum he won the ball and quickly spread it wide for Fijian winger to go over in the corner.

The game was from then on in an even contest with the Samurai sneaking a consolation try with a minute left to leave the final score at 19-12 with the Marauders running out worthy winners as the Samurai team had unfortunately under performed without Jenner,s leadership.

For the 3rd time in succession the Samurai Tens team had failed to reach the final. Each semi final for the last 3years had been close but unfortunately once again it was a case of should have – could have and would have………maybe next year ? 

 

    
Van der Westhuizen Gains His First Samurai Cap At HK 10s

Despite the very late loss of their Northern based sponsor, Samurai International will still make the long journey to Hong Kong to take part in this years Tens competition.
After Semi Final exits for the last 2 years the Samurai Coach Colin Hillman will be hoping to make it 3rd time lucky.

Hong Kong based Company RHK have offered the Samurai Team a last minute lifeline, with funding to go towards the players flights that will finally make this trip possible. Lets hope the team can put in a worthwhile performance to do RHK and the Teams other Sponsors proud.

The team will consist of a mix of UK and South African based players and will be captained by none other than Joust Van der Westhuizen. His half back partner will be Wales and British Lion Fly Half, Neil Jenkins as they play together for the first time.

Andre Venter, Andries Fourie and Jan Harm Van Wyk have also been selected.

This years 10s will be the toughest for many years as several Southern Hemelsphere Teams will be taking part in the competition in an effort to gain the coveted trophy.

The competition takes place on the 16th and 17th March 2005 at the prestigious Hong Kong Football Club, Causeway Bay. 		   



 

  

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