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Tietjens believes NZ 7s team will rise again

Tietjens believes NZ 7s team will rise again
New Zealand 7's coach Sir Gordon Tietjens

New Zealand 7's coach Sir Gordon Tietjens expects a superior approach to selection and training when New Zealand chases sevens redemption at the Tokyo Olympics.

Tietjens believes the men's sevens team will rise again in the wake of their disastrous Rio campaign, which resulted in a quarterfinal loss to Fiji and an eventual fifth placing.

New Zealand defeated France 24‑19 in the 5th‑8th semifinals and then edged Argentina 17‑14 to finish the inaugural Olympics tournament fifth.

The Kiwis played with more flair and no lack of passion as they looked to salvage something from the disastrous campaign.

Meanwhile, All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen is calling for an official review.

Hansen said it was important not to "paper over things" as New Zealand Rugby, the sevens team, and the All Blacks try to get to grips with what was a build‑up driven by conflicts between winning a gold medal and winning test matches.

The most obvious case was Ardie Savea pulling out of the New Zealand sevens squad due to his desire to play for the Hurricanes and then excelling for the All Blacks against Wales in June before helping the Hurricanes to a maiden championship.

Hansen admitted that there is a definite conflict.

He says some players have chosen to go and some have chosen to stay, and that is an option they have decided to make without the influence of Tietjens or him.

Source: Stuff.co

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