We catch up with the Samoan rugby sevens team which has arrived in Mount Maunganui and offers a slice of the Pacific Islands during training at Flex Fitness.
When Sir Gordon Tietjens walked away from coaching the All Blacks Sevens team it would have been easy for him to take a breather and focus on his business interests.
After all, the 62-year-old from Tauranga had achieved more international success than any other sevens coach previously or is likely to in the future. Job well done, you could say.
But Tietjens is no ordinary rugby coach - or character for that matter. He thrives on challenges and creating the wherewithal to go out and reach targets then exceed them.
Taking on the head coach role of Samoa last year so soon after finishing with New Zealand Rugby raised a few eyebrows at the time but it was an opportunity Tietjens jumped at.
He has his extended Samoan squad in the Bay of Plenty over the next fortnight, with this week at Mount Maunganui and next week at Ohope ahead of the HSBC World Series in Sydney from January 26-28.
Yesterday at Mount Maunganui's Flex Fitness the Samoan team went through a vigorous indoor session before preparing for a friendly run against Bay of Plenty last night, who are getting ready for the Bayleys National Sevens in Rotorua this weekend.
Tietjens says what he has loved most about the Samoan players from the start is their humility, respect and how they just want to get better.
"Any Pacific Island team, whether that be Tonga, Fiji or Samoa, they understand the game. It's what they do," he said.
"The biggest issue for the Samoan players is handling the tough times and the disappointment when they make errors or miss a tackle or drop a pass that perhaps costs us the game. Part of my role is to get them to move past that and get them to the next job and be positive.
"With social media now, people can be so harsh and it affects them personally but I know they have gone out and given it their all. They have to go back to their villages and their families and that's why they find it tough."
In the past 12 months in the role Tietjens has noticed a huge surge in interest and support for the Samoan sevens team.
"Ninety per cent of the players live on the island so when Samoa plays the nation stops to watch them. Having contracts in place now has been a massive step and the Prime Minister supported that because we were losing players.
"Sevens is a specialist sport and it is pretty tough to find players if you lose them. There is not a whole lot of depth on the island but I am trying to create depth by including a couple of schoolboys."
Samoa have made a promising start to the World Series in Dubai and Durban.
"We finished sixth in Dubai and pushed South Africa and New Zealand. We led New Zealand 12-5 at halftime but it is just those one percenters that if they don't go your way then sevens is ruthless," Tietjens said.
"We learned a lot from that and what we got out of it was a belief. I think these guys are starting to get a lot of self belief that they can get up and perform with the best if they are at the levels they need to get to."
Samoan sevens players training at Mount Maunganui. PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK
Tietjens changed the concept of team fitness during his record-breaking 22 years as New Zealand coach. He says nothing has changed.
"As a coach I am always looking for new initiatives and innovations that can help the game but I will never move away from what has worked for me. This game is about mental toughness and mental toughness is driven by attitude.
"In Samoa the physicality is always going to be there because that is how they are built. Basically it is the speed of the game that needs to be quicker and in the World Series they have to be fitter.
"The adjustments they have made are unbelievable and I have seen massive improvements which is pleasing. Nutritionally they are on track."
Two of the most experienced players in the Samoan team are Tomasi Alosio, 25, and Tom Iosefo, 30. They have loved every minute since Tietjens began coaching Samoa — even the gut-busting training runs.
"There have been positive changes especially around conditioning and nutrition," Alosio said.
"Titch has been big on that and this is probably the fittest the team has ever been over the past few years. They have been positive changes and we can only move forward."
For Iosefo it has been a lifelong ambition to be coached by Tietjens.
"It was one of my dreams to have him as my coach and it is amazing the fitness levels among the boys. The range of skills that he has provided for us has changed a lot in our team and I think we are all happy to work under him.
"Our results are getting better too and a lot of new players have been brought into the team."
The Samoan squad and management have been staying at the Mount Maunganui College marae this week.
Alosio says it has been a privilege to be able to be there.
"I would just like to acknowledge and thank the college. Brendon and the team there have shown us great hospitality in hosting us there using the facilities. The boys enjoy it there and it has given us time to create really good team culture."
The Samoan players finished their gym session with a gospel song, one of many they sing with passion and pride before and after training and games.
