Sir Gordon Tietjens is widely regarded as one of the greatest rugby coaches of all time. His name is synonymous with the unprecedented success of New Zealand's sevens rugby, having shaped the sport and developed some of the game’s finest players.
Over more than two decades, Gordon masterminded New Zealand’s dominance in rugby sevens, leading the team to an extraordinary twelve World Series titles and four Commonwealth Games gold medals. His ability to identify and nurture talent saw him craft a legacy that extended far beyond the field. Under his leadership, New Zealand became the benchmark for excellence, and in recognition of his coaching brilliance, he was named New Zealand Rugby Union Coach of the Year in 2010.
His contribution to rugby has been acknowledged with some of the highest honours. In 1999, he was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, before being elevated to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2007. His impact on the global game was cemented in 2012 when he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. A year later, he was knighted as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rugby. In 2016, he embraced a new challenge, taking the helm as head coach of the Samoan national sevens team.
Gordon’s no-nonsense leadership, sharp eye for emerging talent, and relentless pursuit of excellence have made him a revered figure in sport and beyond. His principles of discipline, resilience, and teamwork have also shaped his 30-year career with Bay Engineers Supplies, where he currently serves as Strategic Sales Director.
A bestselling author, Gordon has penned Titch, Sevens is My Game and Legacy: Sir Gordon Tietjens, offering insight into his extraordinary career and coaching philosophy. His influence continues to inspire athletes, coaches, and leaders worldwide, leaving a lasting imprint on the game he helped transform.
The team were very interested in Gordon's story he related his professional sporting and corporate stories to align with the team of Finance people he was presenting to. He used humour to ... keep reading Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited
Gordon picked our audience brilliantly. His stories were entirely relevant to our team. The feedback from our operations team in particular was fantastic, and this was the primary audience. This is a great achievement as we have struggled to achieve this objective in the past. His stories were inspiring and personally challenging, and his delivery style made everyone feel engaged.
I wanted to thank you very much for the huge contribution that you made towards our dinner and conference being the success that it was. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed your stories, messages and fantastic sense of humour. Your attendance, presentation and timing really made Lloyd and I look good and with our fingers on the pulse of our customers. Thank you! Personally, I know that I'm a richer person for having met you. I respect your philosophies and the way you live your live and run your teams.
Sir Gordon was a fabulous speaker, he had the audience mesmerised by his talk. He was able to bring a good mix of business and sport examples in to his speech that made really good sense to all of us. This was definitely the highlight of our day.
People are still talking about Sir Gordon's presentation 3 weeks later and I suspect they will for a long time yet. A lot of reference to the green, yellow and red boxes and selecting teams based on character and coach ability. We would describe his presentation as a revelation.
