Tietjens resigns as Samoa coach

Sevens coaching legend Gordon Tietjens has stepped down as Samoa Sevens coach after three years.

Tietjens, who has coached Samoa for three years after being a long-time coach of the All Blacks Sevens, announced his resignation on Tuesday.

The 64-year-old said the uncertainty created by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and the 2019-20 Sevens World Series events meant it was the right time for him to step down.

Tietjens is considered a game changer in the world of Sevens, steering New Zealand to six straight World Series titles between 2000 and 2005 and also collecting a host of Commonwealth Games medals in a 23-year tenure..

"With so much uncertainty as to when the Sevens World Series would continue, the best solution moving forward would be to step down to allow Samoa Rugby to plan for the future," Tietjens said in a statement.

"With the cancellation of the Olympics and four tournaments more than likely to be cancelled from the 2019/2020 series, the timing I felt was right to step down so they could look for a new head coach.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time coaching the Manu Samoa Sevens team and I thank the Samoa Rugby Union for giving me this opportunity, as it’s been an absolute honour and privilege to have been involved over the last three years”.

The Tokyo Olympics are set to go ahead in July of next year while the fate of the World Series is unclear with its staging dependent on international travel restrictions.