Stevenson, Gordon Tietjens and Scotty

Sir Gordon Tietjens is rightly regarded as the greatest sevens coach in history. Under his watch, the New Zealand sevens team became the most successful in the sport, winning four Commonwealth Games gold medals, 12 World Series Sevens titles and two Sevens Rugby World Cups. Renowned for his ability to spot talent, he consistently unearthed future stars, and nurtured the careers of more than 50 All Blacks, including some of the biggest names in the game. In 2012, Sir Gordon became the first sevens coach to be inducted into the IRB (now World Rugby) Hall of Fame and, in 2013, was knighted for services to the game. After a remarkable 22 seasons, Sir Gordon stepped down as head coach of the New Zealand sevens team in 2016, following its early exit from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He is now coach of the Samoan sevens team. Sir Gordon is the father of Paul and Kylie and lives in Tauranga with his wife Jules.;