Sir Gordon Tietjens puts his Samoan side to the test

Sir Gordon Tietjens (Photosport file)
Sir Gordon Tietjens (Photosport file)

Sevens mastermind Sir Gordon Tietjens is back on New Zealand soil for this weekend's national provincial tournament in Rotorua, only this time with a very different agenda.

Now coach of the Samoa sevens side after a storied tenure in charge of the New Zealand programme, Sir Gordon has brought 16 of his most promising young players from the island for a training camp in Tauranga as a means of selecting his squad for the Wellington leg of the World Series next month.

Eight of those players will appear for the national side at Westpac Stadium, with a further two to be plucked from a gamut of Samoans set to be on display at the provincial tournament.

The 61-year-old is intent on exposing his charges to the differing demands of rugby in Aotearoa with a firm view to building depth in the Samoan ranks.

"What I've found since I've been with Samoa is that the rugby on the island is very, very physical, but the intensity probably isn't as great as it is in New Zealand," Sir Gordon told Newshub.

"The speed of the game is what we're trying to pick up on, and they certainly got that in the weekend."

It's proven to have been an invaluable experience, with many of his squad gaining their first taste of the realities of professional rugby - and it's in two key areas where Sir Gordon believes they have the most room to grow.

"Getting the conditioning levels they need to be at to compete on the sevens circuit, and hand-in-hand with that is the nutritional side.

"They've made massive strides in quite a short space of time, and being out here in New Zealand at the High Performance Centre, they're learning what high performance is all about.

"It's great for some of them because they've never really had the facility before to really push themselves, so it's working well at the moment."

The IRB Hall of Famer was named head coach of the Samoan team in October after stepping down from the New Zealand role following an unsuccessful Rio Olympics campaign.

It's been enough time to introduce his infamous training regime, although the 12-time World Series-winning coach is well aware that lifting the side to his high standard of conditioning is a work in progress, as is gaining familiarity with his players on an individual basis.

"It's always going to be a gradual process, but they're slowly getting there.

"They're being tested while they're here because I had no data on them, and they are pushing themselves, probably harder than they ever have done.

"I can see the improvements, but at the same time it's not a quick fix.

"You want to instill that pride to wear the Samoan jersey into those players from the island."

And when it comes to who he's picking to come on top this weekend, he's finding it hard to look past defending champions Waikato.

"They have a fairly strong side and look promising, probably going in as the favourite looking to back up what they did last year."

Newshub.