DUBAI // Gordon Tietjens has taken his famously insatiable desire for excellence to a new extreme by demanding his New Zealand side improve on their record-breaking feats of last year. The coach oversaw an eighth IRB World Series win in nine attempts last term. New Zealand went on to a 47-match winning streak, and claimed seven tournament titles along the way, including the opener at the Dubai Exiles.
Yet Tietjens, who set greats such as Jonah Lomu and Joe Rokocoko on the path to stardom in the past, was still not satisfied. "I felt we were well conditioned mentally and physically which very much contributed to us performing at the consistency required to win a World Series," he said. "But we need to be consistent in some of the set-play pieces. In Hong Kong, for example, we were not as fluent as we wanted to be."
The coach accepts his side will be under pressure to match their exploits when they defend their title in Dubai at the end of November. "Every year we always seem to be faced with the pressures of winning - even more so this year after a very successful World Series campaign," said Tietjens. "With Dubai being the first tournament, every team wants to start well so the pressure applies to all teams. There are up to six teams that can win any of the tournaments. South Africa, Fiji, Samoa, England, Argentina and Australia will all be threats."
The event will be staged at the new home for rugby in the Middle East from Nov. 27-29. @Email:pradley@thenational.ae
