Tietjens' Samoa contract put n hold
Tietjens, the newly appointed Samoan coach, confirmed he will miss the first two tournaments of the Sevens World Series – in Dubai and South Africa.
Tietjens is still under contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union.
"My contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union runs through December, up to January," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"I guess you could say I am on gardening leave.
"I got a letter telling me about my contractual obligations."
Initial reports suggested Tietjens had retired and then opted to move to Samoa as their new Sevens coach.
However, the veteran coach is being held to his contract with the NZRU right to the bitter end.
"I did find it a bit hurtful, to be told I couldn't go to Samoa to coach and that I would effectively miss the first two tournaments," he told the Auckland-based newspaper.
"I thought maybe 22 years would count for something. There's an assistant coach in Samoa who will look after things until I can get there.
"I did offer to help with the New Zealand side some time ago, as they still don't have a new coach. However, that doesn't seem to have come to anything; Dubai is only a few weeks away now."
New Zealand Rugby High Performance Manager Don Tricker said: "We've reached a confidential agreement with Sir Gordon so it's not really appropriate for us to comment further."
Source: New Zealand Herald
