Tietjens confident unwanted ABs can return

PETER MEECHAM/Fairfax Media

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Rugby's coach with the magic touch believes he has one more trick up his sleeve with his quartet of unwanted All Blacks gunning for gold in Delhi in October.

Gordon Tietjens, who has launched more All Black careers than some people have had hot dinners, reckons he can help revive the stalled test hopes of Zac Guildford, Hosea Gear, Adam Thomson and Ben Smith via his all-conquering New Zealand sevens team.

Tietjens put his Games-bound sevens squad through their paces in a two-day camp in Auckland that ended yesterday. And he was more than happy to endorse the prospects of Guildford, Gear, Thomson and Smith using sevens as a springboard to success in the XVs game.

Guildford and Thomson were part of Graham Henry's squad for the June tests but lost their places when the group was rejigged for the Tri-Nations. The in-form Gear has been a controversial omission from the national team this year, after playing one test each in 2008 and '09. And Smith was a 2009 end-of-year tourist but has been overlooked throughout 2010.

All four have made themselves available for the Games sevens campaign in the hope that Tietjens, and his team, can provide the launching pad to All Black success that it has for so many in the past.

"I can see the four of them having a real opportunity," said the man who introduced Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen to the world via the abbreviated game.

"They could all get themselves back into the All Blacks for the World Cup next year."

Tietjens, of course, has seen it all before. Players come into his sevens environment, get themselves super fit, sharpen skills, and then head back into XVs and make a huge impact.

Even among the current crop of All Blacks Cory Jane, Mils Muliaina, Joe Rokocoko, Israel Dagg, Ma'a Nonu, Rene Ranger and Liam Messam have all come through via stints under Tietjens.

"Adam Thomson is a great ball-carrier, he played superbly for me once he got to know the game three years ago," added Tietjens. "I think it's a great launching pad for all four of them to get back into the All Blacks."

Tietjens termed his two-day camp - the last with his squad before they get together pre-departure - as a "crash course" in sevens awareness among a group mostly immersed back in the XVs game now.

"What I noticed out here today was a huge improvement from yesterday," he said. "To get good at sevens it's about training it and playing it and today there was a bit of excitement there and everything started to fall into place.

"We're not that far away but there's plenty of work to do over the next three weeks."

And the sevens guru is adamant that the work done at camps like this one, and the three-day gathering they'll have back in Auckland before heading to Dubai to acclimatise, were when the real foundation was laid.

"This hard work today, that's the key to it," said the 16-year coaching veteran.

"The gold medal will be won back here in New Zealand. Going over there it's all about technical and tactical."

Guildford, nursing blisters on both feet, said he'd enjoyed his first real exposure to the game at a senior level.

"You've got to create more, look to push more in midfield and look to create space for guys out wide," he said. "It's the opposite of what I do in XVs so it's something new for me and something I'm still learning."

But Guildford is sure the hard work will be worth it. "I guess it's going to open up a whole new avenue when I go back to XVs," he added.

Gear said his motivation was first and foremost about matching his brother Rico and bringing home gold as the New Zealanders look to continue their 100 per cent record at the Games.

"But I think it will be good for my XVs game as well," said the star Wellington wing who is eyeing a possible November tour callup. "That repeated speed will help get the workrate up and the fitness levels up as well.

"All I can do is put best foot forward hope for results out of that."

Thomson felt the chance to bring back a gold medal would be ``special`` but was sure he'd enhance his XVs game in the process. ``My major work-on is to get hands on ball again and be a ball-runner. Sevens is a great platform to do that.``

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