The Samurai Sportwear Story
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Samurai Rugby was founded in 1996 when Terry Sands, the current manager of The England Sevens Team, was invited to enter a team into the 25th anniversary of the Amsterdam Sevens.
Terry had been working in South Africa during the World Cup of 1995 and had greatly admired the spirit and perseverance shown by the Japanese Team. They had lacked the physical requirements for 15-a-side rugby on such a big stage but were passionate, adventurous and always willing “to think outside the box”. It was these attributes that became the inspiration for the name behind his invitation team – The Samurai.
The Samurai Team won the Amsterdam tournament and immediately became crowd favourites. This was due to both the manner in which they played and their striking and unique playing kit – Two stars were born that weekend. Samurai International RFC and Samurai Rugby.
For six years Terry managed Samurai Rugby on his own from premises in Billdeston, Suffolk. A major change took place in 2002 when he joined former England Full Back Simon Hodgkinson and his business partner Neil Bridgstock. The fit seemed perfect. Simon and Neil owned a business (Marquesman Sports Services Limited) that, although seemingly in competition with Samurai Rugby, specialised in different areas of the rugby market. Samurai was strong in the clubs market and specialised in clothing. Marquesman had close links to the schools and retail markets and concentrated mainly on equipment sales. The combined operation would be able to cover all the bases and cover them well. So it was decided that Marquesman Sports Services Limited was to be the company and Samurai the brand name for the clothing and equipment ranges.
The team and the sports business that is associated with it have both come a long way since those early days. The team now competes all over the world, is one of the most respected and well-known invitation sides on the planet and can boast that many of the great names of rugby have taken to the field in Samurai kit. At the same time the sports business has grown out of all proportion from the small acorn it once was and is now one of the major players in the U.K sports market.
The company is set up to be a little different to most of the competition. In a nutshell there are three sides to the Samurai story, not the usual two. Firstly, it now operates at the sharp end of the sports clothing and equipment market, manufacturing and supplying a wide range of bespoke Team Wear (for various sports) so that clubs and schools can create their own identity. Alongside this is a huge stock holding of playing and off-field wear, that satisfies the demands of those customers that need an immediate service. Finally, we have now moved into the high street. Our exciting range of retail products are now in-store in all the major U.K independent rugby specialists.
The company headquarters of Samurai International Sportswear Limited are located in Long Stratton, just south of Norwich where there is a total workforce of 31 – but as brand recognition gets stronger and sales continue to grow at over 20% per annum it is obvious that both the real estate the company occupies and the number of people it employs will only increase.
Watch this space!
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Samurai Directors
Hover over the directors image' to see the profile
 
Terry Sands, born in Brentwood Essex, has been heavily involved in rugby all his life from grassroots through to International level. He has owned and run his own business for 26 years and manages to combine this with working for Gulliver’s Sports Travel on numerous tours such as the Rugby World Cup and British Lions Tours. This gives Terry the depth of experience and insight in understanding the requirements and issues that grassroots through to professional teams face on and off the pitch.
In 1996 Terry was the founder member of Samurai International RFC, the high profile International 7s team, which he continues to actively be involved in. Terry has acted as team manager for the England A team since 2003, including overseas tours to Japan and the Churchill Cup. In 2006 Terry became the England 7’s team manager for the World Sevens Series and also at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where they won the silver medal.
Terry has forged associations, working relationships and friendships with rugby people from all over the World, This together with his passion for the game has proved to be unique ingredients to enable him to understand what players and consumers demand at all levels and has allowed Terry to ensure Samurai Sportswear remains both practical and innovative.
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  Neil is the Financial and Systems brain behind Samurai, is a keen sportsman and has tried his hand at most. He excels at both water and snow skiing and was a better than average cricketer in his day. He is an active ECB Level 2 coach and a Norfolk CC youth manager(his son follows on the family tradition by playing for a Norfolk county side). By his own admission, like most of us, he has yet to master the game of golf he so loves and rugby is a sport that came to him rather too late in life for him to be a player - but he is now an avid rugby follower and his current involvement in the game is as a mini’s coach at Norwich RFC.
Neil trained as an architect in the late seventies but has been involved in the sports trade since 1982. Firstly as an independent retailer before joining Cantabrian, the world's leading supplier of athletics equipment. It was here that he first met (as a customer) and then teamed up with Simon Hodgkinson to set up Marquesman Sports Services Limited in 1990. The rest they say is history.
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  Simon Hodgkinson is an ex-England rugby full back and Independent School teacher. He therefore has the perfect background to understand the differing requirements of the various rugby markets – from the professionals to the minis.
Simon gained 14 England caps during the 1989-1991 seasons, during which he was able to experience The 1991 Grand Slam and World Cup Final. (With such a strong Samurai following in Wales he trys to keep quiet that his most memorable moment in an International shirt was England’s win at The Arms Park in 1991)
Simon taught Economics and Business Studies at Trent College in Nottingham before embarking on a career in the sports trade and maintains a close association to the schools market by coaching across the age groups at Oundle School, near Peterborough.
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