Gordon Tietjens named Samoa sevens coach
Friday 14 October 2016 10:20, UK
Former New Zealand rugby sevens coach Gordon Tietjens has been appointed as Samoa's new sevens boss from next year.
The 60-year-old, who was inducted into World Rugby's Hall of Fame in 2012 for his contribution to sevens, left his role with New Zealand after the team missed out on a medal at the Rio Olympics.
Samoa did not qualify for Rio after a surprise defeat to Spain in qualifying.
"We know that there was much competition to secure the services of such a prestigious figure in world rugby sevens," said Samoa Rugby Union chairman Tuilaepa Sailele L. Malielegaoi.
"In entrusting our beloved sevens team to Gordon we know we have a coach who understands how important rugby is to our people, and he has a deep appreciation for how to get the best out of the talent we know we have."
The most successful sevens coach in history, Tietjens led New Zealand from 1994 and guided teams in more than 100 international tournaments, yielding two World Cup titles, 12 world series crowns and four Commonwealth Games gold medals.
The 2016/17 World Sevens series begins in Dubai on December 2 before Tietjens, who had also been linked with Kenya, starts his new job on January 1.
He will spend about a month with the side before the third tournament of the series in Wellington on January 28-29.
"I have some commitments I need to complete before making the transition to Samoa, but I am hugely excited to be joining the Boys in Blue," Tietjens said.
"I am massively motivated to help them achieve their goal to be a consistent top performer on the world stage."
