Gordon Tietjens

Sir Gordon Tietjens

Tietjens in Fiji
Full name	Gordon Frederick Tietjens
Date of birth	(1955-12-09) 9 December 1955 (age 61)
Place of birth	Rotorua, New Zealand
Rugby union career
Position(s) Coach Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1977–82 1983 1984–86 Bay of Plenty Waikato Bay of Plenty 81 14 () National team(s) Years Team Comps 1983 New Zealand 1 Teams coached Years Team 1994–2016 1996–2002 New Zealand Bay of Plenty

Sir Gordon Frederick Tietjens KNZM (born 9 December 1955) is head coach of the Samoa rugby sevens team, and a celebrated former coach of the New Zealand men's national team in rugby sevens, the All Blacks Sevens. When the International Rugby Board inducted him into the IRB Hall of Fame in May 2012, it said that "Tietjens' roll of honour is without peer in Sevens, and perhaps in the Game of Rugby as a whole." According to Spiro Zavos, Tietjens is "The greatest of all the Sevens coaches". As of his induction, he had coached the All Blacks Sevens to 10 series titles in the IRB Sevens World Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens crown in 2001, and gold medals in four of the five Commonwealth Games in which the sport had been contested, losing the 2014 final in Glasgow. He has also added two more IRB Sevens series titles (2013 and 2014), and a second Rugby World Cup Sevens crown (also in 2013).

Tietjens has coached many young players who have gone on to become All Blacks, includingChristian Cullen, Jonah Lomu, Joe Rokocoko, Mils Muliaina, Rico Gear, Cory Jane, Ben Smith, and Liam Messam. As of June 2016, Tietjens has coached 44 players who have gone on to become All Blacks in the 15-a-side game and he is the only remaining active international coach from the amateur era.