By Paul LewisIt won't take long before Sir Gordon Tietjens' Samoan sevens beat New Zealand, especially if his replacement at the helm of New Zealand sevens is as handicapped as Tietjens was. The real reason for failing to win gold in Rio was not Tietjens, in spite of trenchant criticism thrown his way, but New Zealand Rugby. Sonny Bill Williams was the only All Black to jump the sevens fence, although Liam Messam didn't make the cut. We used to marvel at Titch winning world crowns time after time when about 200 first-choice rugby players were fenced off by the NZR priority system. Instead, Tietjens could select Super Rugby players, but only if they played 10 weeks in that competition.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 14, 2016 22:52 UTC