Samoa out to ride Gordon Tietjens wave in Hong Kong after Olympic Games setback

Captain Fa’alemiga Selesele says the island nation are ready to move on under the legendary New Zealand coach at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens after missing out on Rio de Janeiro last year

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Captain Faalemiga Selesele of Samoa and kids of Tuen Mun Sharks mini rugby club dress up as sharks to raise awareness of shark conservation. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 8:02pm, 2 Apr 2017Updated: 11:24pm, 2 Apr 2017

The heartbreak for Samoa was there for the world to see last year. A last-second try in the final of the sudden-death qualifying event in Monaco ensured it was upstarts Spain, not the islanders, who were off to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games following a 22-19 victory.

Captain Fa’alemiga Selesele was the first to speak to his devastated teammates after the loss, telling them to consign it to history and turn their attentions immediately to the future instead.

“It was tough, a real hard way to lose, but that’s what happens in this game – one thing can decide the game, I told them we just have to move on,” Selesele said.

So, in the months since Rio, Samoa have been trying to turn their fortunes around after a relatively lean period for a sevens-proud nation last crowned HSBC Sevens World Series champions in 2009-10, and last winners of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens that season.

Kids of Tuen Mun Sharks mini rugby club try to tackle a Samoan player during a session to raise awareness of shark conservation. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

What has slowly been helping right the ship has been the recruitment of Gordon Tietjens after 22 years of unequalled success as the leader of New Zealand.

“He’s been great for the young blokes and the older ones, just getting us focused and making us think about the game all the time, every day,” said Selesele.