Shogun RFC’s Success and Legacy are Built On Choosing The Right People

Mark Dean (‘Deano’) is the Vice Chairman of Shogun RFC, and he has been with the club for approximately 20 years now. He told us how he first got involved in 2006 on tours to the UK and Europe, and since then has been all over the world with the famous touring side, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and 20 years of competing at the HKFC 10s. 

The Shogun RFC Men’s team were knocked out at the semifinals at this year’s Tradition HKFC 10s, which had one of the highest quality fields of teams and coaches we have seen for some time – the semifinal exit was their same fate as in 2025, but they won the coveted title for the first time in 2024. They are annual contendors, not only at the HKFC 10s but at most tournaments they compete in globally.

Shogun RFC Vice Chairman Mark Dean – “It’s One of the Best Clubs in the World”

We asked Deano how he first got involved with Shogun RFC and what he liked about Shogun (then called Samurai).

“I first got involved with them at the Amsterdam 7s through Terry Sands, who is the club’s founder. In 1996, he invited me to come out to be the Team Manager in Amsterdam with a bunch of Welsh international boys and other guys from Milfield School. 

We went out there, we got some silverware, and the main Samurai team got to the final, and that was my first experience. 

I met a guy called Colin Hillman, who’s a bit of a legend in the game, and sadly passed away in 2009, but he was one of the founding members of the Shogun club. He looked at me in the bar on that first trip and said, ‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah’. He quipped ‘You can be quite good at this’, and I just stayed involved ever since. 

It’s opened so many doors. I’ve met so many amazing people, and that makes it just one of the best clubs in the world. You make friends for life. You make friends all over the world. You get to help give young men and women the opportunity and the pathway to go on and represent their country. I think we’ve actually had players go on to play for 58 different countries!”

Image Credit – Shogun RFC

Shogun RFC Has an Incredible Alumni of Players & Coaches

The legacy and impact the Shogun touring club has had is immense, and they continue to compete at the top tournaments around the globe. The opportunities Deano alluded to mean up-and-coming players get to play elite-level rugby against their peers and on some of the best platforms there are.

“Look at someone like Luke Trehane, who now lives and plays and coaches here in Hong Kong. He played for the GB Sevens team for years, and I think he first played for us when he was 16. We found him playing for his school’s old boys club somewhere, and we spotted him and realised he had some talent.”

Our chat in the HKFC 10s stands was then interrupted by another Shogun alumni, Rocky Khan, who was with the Traditional YCAC side in a coaching capacity and helped them win the title to go back-to-back in 2026.

He also expanded on some stories of having played for Shogun at tournaments, including at the HKFC 10s, and has a long affiliation with the club. He’s currently with the CRFA (China Rugby Football Association), developing the new crop of women’s 7s talent emerging from China.

Photo Credit – Shogun RFC

There are endless connections to Shogun RFC. The HKFC 10s Chairman is also the Shogun RFC President (Paul Christopher), competing team coach at the HKFC 10s for the Ashbury Tropics and former USA and England 7s Head coach Mike Friday is the Shogun RFC Chairman.

Mark Dean continued, “Shogun has pioneered getting all of these guys into the national sides all over the world. There are so many names, like Philip Wokorach from Uganda, we’ve had a fair few Hong Kong boys play for us over the years; Raef Morrison, Eric Kwok and others – there’s been a fair few. 

It’s probably more about creating those opportunities for players and coaches. Look at the HSBC World SVNS Series at the moment, you’ve got one of our former alumni leading the Australian women (Tim Walsh), you’ve seen here at the HKFC 10s, Mike Friday. A lot of guys had opportunities with us and have gone on to coach international rugby and done really well.”

Is HKFC 10s The World’s Best Tens Rugby Tournament?

Shogun RFC have attended the HKFC 10s for 20 years. Does the Vice Chairman of Shogun RFC think it’s the ‘World’s Best Tens Rugby tournament?

Mark Dean nodded. “In terms of calibre. I think so. You’ve seen that here again across the three days, haven’t you? The standards have been insane. It’s so good. There are probably five or six teams that could have won it in the Men’s comp. 

We lost to YCAC Tradition in that semi-final. Obviously, we’re disappointed we lost, but they were good. There’s nothing to take away from them – they’re a cracking side. 

For everyone who has sat here and watched the women’s sides, the standard is so high. It just seems to get better and better every year.”

It’s a special tournament. The number of countries the players come from, where the teams come from, and the capped internationals that have played at the HKFC 10s is astounding.

He agreed. “There are many reasons why it’s the best Tens tournament, and for good reasons. You’ve got teams from all over the world wanting to play here. You’ve got new teams this year, which is always good. Sides like the TP ICAP First Nations & Pasifika, you’ve got the Froggies making the final in their first year competing at the HKFC 10s. You’ve got guys from America. You’ve got guys from Australia, New Zealand, and the East Africans as well. It’s truly a global tournament for a truly global audience.”

Photo Credit – Shogun RFC

Shogun Milestone Year in 2026 – 30 Years as a Touring Club

The Shogun RFC have celebrations and tours planned for 2026. Later this year, they will head back to Amsterdam 7s, going back to where it started for Deano. They have also partnered with the MND Association to help raise funds and to build awareness of MND.

Mark Dean explained, “We have partnered with the MND charity in the UK this year, hopefully raising money and awareness for what is an awful condition. Obviously, anybody involved in rugby knows people who have been affected by this, and we’re trying to do our bit to support them and raise awareness. 

You can help by donating here.

In terms of tournaments, we are heading to Europe and Prague, which will be good fun. In this region, we have Dubai later in the year, and Singapore with the SCC 7s. It’s a global calendar, which is nice in our 30th year.”

Photo Credit – Shogun RFC

Shogun’s Three Decades – What is their Longevity Down To?

We asked Deano what he puts the club’s longevity down to? It’s not easy to sustain a touring club at the highest levels, and the current economic climate adds further challenges.

“We try to make it fun. We try to make it a lived experience. We create memories for people. We want people to make friends. We want to create those things so they always talk about it 20 years down the line, 30 years down the line.

My view has always been that you might remember the games, but you don’t always remember the score. You do remember the people you met, how they made you feel, how you felt in that moment of playing, and basically the friends you’ve made as well. 

So that’s kind of the important part of it, and I think we keep doing that as long as we can. We keep giving people new experiences, give them the opportunities to show what they can do on the field, and if we do that, I think we will continue to be successful.”

Photo Credit – Shogun RFC

He told us about how players are selected and how they get sides to bond and play so successfully.

“We tend to pick the team from the local area or region. So obviously, whether in Hong Kong and Singapore, it makes sense to go to the Pacific Islands, and it makes sense to go to Australia and New Zealand. It all comes down to funding, where we can bring players in, but when it’s a really true Shogun team, it’s a mix of nationalities. 

You bring a lot of different people together, you create that team feel and that bond, and then hopefully you go and win the tournament. 

It’s quite a special thing for guys to meet for the first time, three or four days before a tournament, and then you’re going up against World Series-level teams and some of the best teams in the world. And it’s an absolute cracker.”

We asked him to give some insights about that bonding off-field – what’s the secret sauce?

Mark Dean paused and said, “It’s about choosing the right people, choosing the right coaches and management team. You know, the team that we’ve got here with Barry Gallagher and Milton Froggat (Team Managers), they’re so experienced in bringing players together, and creating the opportunities for people to bond, to have those shared experiences, to share stories, to get to know each other in a sort of relaxed social environment before the tournament. 

Obviously, we want to do well in the tournament, so we can’t go crazy off-field, but you know, we’ve got to allow them to actually make those connections. And that’s the really important part. And sometimes it doesn’t always work, but you know, most of the time we get that right.”

Photo Credit – Shogun RFC

You can read more from Mark Dean’s insights into the Sjogun RFC and 2026 HKFC 10s tournament in his blog article – Forged Fast: Shogun RFC and the Art of Rapid Team Building

Favourite Shogun RFC Memories – Mark Dean

Having been involved as long as he has with Shogun RFC, we asked if he had a favourite memory, or a couple that stand out over the past two decades he’s been involved.

“The first men’s win here at the HKFC 10s, which was only a few years ago (2024). It got the monkey off our back. It was a good one. We had been nearly-rans for so long. I think the final against the Penguins, when it went down to golden point, and we lost, was heartbreaking.

Photo Credit – Shogun RFC

But then the flip side to that was that it was the first time they had a women’s tournament at the HKFC 10s. We put a women’s team in, and we won it first time out, which was just the best.

Elsewhere around the world, we have played in Fiji, played in Australia. But we’ve also won the Safari Sevens against Kenya in 2017 or 2016. It was incredible to go to Nairobi to play at altitude, to beat the Kenyan national side, a World Sevens Series team, with a bunch of guys who literally met five days earlier. 

They’re probably the big two that stand out.”

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