Gordon Tietjens: A step closer to dreamland
By Gordon Tietjens
In his second column, New Zealand's eight-time IRB Sevens World Series winning coach Gordon Tietjens wonders what a difference this Olympic recommendation could make as he looks to win back the Series crown.
If you are a good enough rugby player, strong enough, quick enough, fast, fit and committed enough to play Sevens for your country, then you could now be part of an Olympic sport.
Sevens has been recommended for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games. Amazing words. There's still a vote in October, but it's a big step in the right direction, and a massive boost for Sevens.
For me, going to the Olympics is something that I've dreamt of as a coach because of the Commonwealth Games and the success we've had at three Commonwealths, mixing with the best athletes in the world.
It's just a huge honour to represent your country in that kind of environment and I often say that for most of my players they will look back on those Gold medals as the proudest and most significant moments in their rugby lives.
Now I'm setting about building a fresh New Zealand Sevens squad for the upcoming IRB Sevens World Series and I get the feeling I might have a few more players looking at Sevens as a serious option.
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I've got the names of about 100 players in front of me now, from all the different provinces who have been nominated for the New Zealand Sevens team.
This year I've probably done more work that any other looking to pick up a new bunch of players that are going to come in around a nucleus of four or five experienced players.
I'm going out to see lots play in 15-a-side games at the moment. They're not playing in Sevens tournaments because we don't really have them in New Zealand - apart from the odd club tournament, we only have the one in January before the Wellington event - so I'm going to have to attract and convert some very good fifteens players and coach them to be good Sevens players. That's where it's at right now, but I think today's news might start to shift the goalposts.
Sevens in the spotlight
Cory Jane, a current All Black, was asked the other day what has been the highlight of his career so far and, even though he's been made an All Black, it was winning a Gold medal in Melbourne. Liam Messam said the same thing, and going to the Olympics would be another step up again.
I know I face a tough job building a team capable of challenging the likes of South Africa, but I think the Olympics could change all that.
If I can attract a few players back and also turn some of our very good young rugby players into good Sevens players then we will be right back on track. Our Under 20s have won the IRB Under 19 World Championship or Junior World Championship three years running and there are a few of those players that I'm looking at now. Some of them won't quite make Super 14 so a Sevens pathway may be the best thing for them.
It was tough watching South Africa lift the World Series crown in May, a trophy that we'd almost come to consider as our own down the years. South Africa have full time Sevens specialists, they see it in a different light and that's where a lot of those players see their future. They're pumping out Sevens players, who are conditioned for the sport and always ready to play.
Conditioning is such a huge part of Sevens, and would be a real priority for something as important as the Olympics. Going forward it would play a major part in deciding how I'd pick a team for the Olympics, if we did get there.
Fit for Sevens
It's a long way out, but we'd have to put strategies in place because of the importance of the Olympics. And a lot of that planning would be based around taking the very best side possible to the Olympics and obviously that for me is the key - having the best players available to represent your country.
For the Commonwealth Games there have been clashes with the All Blacks and Super 14 calendars, but for the Olympics I've said that I'd like to think that all the very best players would be available to me - and not only that, the players would be given time to get the sufficient conditioning.
Once I was told which players were available - and with it being the Olympics I would hope that all the best players would be - we'd have them in programmes a long way out to get them conditioned right.
There's no 'get fit quick' fix in Sevens, you have to put the work in over a period of time, and if you couldn't do the required work then you wouldn't be selected, simple as that.
The Olympic dream is now a major possibility. How many players would seriously pass it up? Some of the current All Blacks love the game of Sevens but never get a chance to play it but that could change now.
Even before this news, a few had told me they want to be part of the Commonwealth Games. What now..?
