Gordon Tietjens Rugby Academy set to elevate M’sia rugby further
SANDAKAN: The Eagles Rugby Club (ERC) could not have got a better endorsement than from legendary Sir Gordon Tietjens when he came on board to help lift the game to greater heights in the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as Malaysia and Asia as a whole.
The link up with Sir Tietjens was formalised on March 15 with the launch of the Sir Gordon Tietjens Eagles Rugby Academy at ERS Sports Arena at Bandar Utama, Mile 6, Jalan Utara, Sandakan.
The academy has been hailed for moulding future 7s stars and aspiring high-performance coaches with improved knowledge of the game.
“ERC believes that it is a wonderful opportunity for us to harness the in-depth knowledge and expertise of this great rugby legend and maximise use of such knowledge for the good of the game here and elsewhere,” said ERC president Velayuthan Tan.
“I had no second thoughts of lending my name to this Academy and to be personally involved because the facilities here are second to none and world standard,” said Tietjens, who is the academy chairman, in a telephone interview.
“After coaching New Zealand for 22 years, I thought I was going to retire but I want to give something back to the game and this opportunity in this part of the region was the best thing to come to me,” said Tietjens, the former coach of the NZ Men’s National Team and the All Blacks Sevens.
Tietjens is a motivational speaker considered to be one of the finest coaches of any sport in the world. He has led New Zealand’s dominating run in the world of rugby sevens throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
In the 16 years since the IRB Rugby World Series has been run, he has won 12 World Titles and four Commonwealth Games gold medals - 1998 Kuala Lumpur, 2002 Manchester, 2006 Melbourne and 2010 Delhi.
He was named the New Zealand Rugby Union Coach of the year in 2010, recognised for guiding his team to a fourth consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal.
In 1999, his efforts were recognised by being awarded the NZ Order of Merit in the New Zealand’s Honours List and again in 2007, he was awarded the Insignia of a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
In 2012, Tietjens became the 49th inductee into the International Rugby Board’s Hall of Fame.
The commemorative cap and gold pin were presented at an awards ceremony at Twickenham, shortly after New Zealand clinched their 11th World Series title from 14 attempts.
He was further promoted in 2013 to a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rugby after 19 years of coaching the All Black Sevens.
Tietjens is known for his nononsense leadership style and uncanny ability to spot raw new talent. Whether it was the motivation he injects into his teams, his refusal to accept anything but the best from his players, or his absolute belief in his ability to pick and coach people to be the best they can be, Tietjens has a remarkable track record in sport and working with winning teams.
According to Tietjens, rugby 7s has always been about culture and conditioning - the two real qualities of the sport.
“And ERS such have the facilities to put conditioning in place and create the rugby culture,” he said.
The academy is a complete one-stop centre for rugby development and its birth was a dream come true for Vela Tan, who had visualised the academy since more than 15 years ago.
It has finally materialised through hard work, determination, passion and support of IJM Land who had contributed to the six acres of prime land for the Arena and contributions from supporters, with Vela himself having to fork out a substantial amount money from his own pocket.
A High Performance Warehouse Fitness Centre was also officially opened during the academy’s launch.
The centre boasts a full array of state-of-the-art cross-training equipment housed in one of the biggest structures designed and purpose-built for fitness training.
In conjunction with the launch in March, a three-day rugby course was personally facilitated by Tietjens, assisted by coaches Edwin Cocker (former NZ All Blacks 7s captain), Rocky Khan (former All Blacks 7s player) and Crystal Kaua (Ex- NZ women Black Fern player).
The ERS has indeed made a remarkable impact, not only in Malaysian rugby, but for all sports associations and clubs to emulate this achievement to help promote and develop their respective sports.
Private sector, individuals urged to sponsor para athletes
KUALA LUMPUR: 2019 will be an important year for national paralympic athletes to accumulate points to qualify on merit to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
“Next year is a very important year. We have to seek qualifying points for all the sports that Malaysia have a chance to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and win medals, through championships which are sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
“Athletes need to participate in these tournaments to improve their performance, accumulate qualifying points and world rankings. Despite funding constraints, the MSN (National Sports Council) will continue to send athletes to IPC-recognised championships,” said MSN Paralympic Division director Mohd Safrushahar Yusoff when met upon his arrival at the KL International Airport in Sepang on Saturday.
He said MSN welcomed cooperation with private companies or individuals in sponsoring athletes’ participations in more championships.
“We need more ‘partners’ ... agencies or individuals to help support the development of paralympic sports at the highest level.
“The opportunities given by MSN in some mandatory championships can be increased with the cooperation of outside quarters (who will act as sports associates). I see bright opportunities for our athletes to go further if they participate in more international tournaments,” he said. - Bernama