In his second column of 2010, New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens explains how his Sevens programme makes a player as good as they can be, and looks forward to the upcoming fitness camp at Ohope Beach.
In all the time I've been involved, I can't remember a more gruelling two weeks for my players on the World Series - the two three-day events back-to-back in Adelaide and Hong Hong were extremely tough. I was shot to pieces and the players were on enforced rest when they got back to freshen up.
This week we go into camp for four days and it looks like I'll have a fully fit squad of 16 players to pick from, with Lote Raikabula back, our world class Sevens hooker, Sherwin Stowers our flyer and then also Solomon King.
People often ask about the fitness camps in the run-up to the tournaments and we're just about to have one now. We're off to Ohope Beach, about an hour from Mount Maunganui, and when we're there we'll stay at a camping ground. We're a close-knit side but doing that also helps to mould the players even more as a team.
Sevens Boot camp..
There will be a lot of hard work to regain that Sevens sharpness and get back to that anaerobic threshold. Some of the players will have been back training with their 15-a-side teams and the trainings are nowhere near as intense, so we'll have game situations, a lot of running, repeated speed, some gym sessions and testing, but at the same time some relaxation, some watersports in the sea, a bit of kayaking, surfing and getting the most out of it prior to leaving for the UK.
These guys all have to be rounded athletes and obviously very good rugby players. There's no hard and fast rule about strength and speed requirements, each player is judged on his merits.
Toby Arnold was benching 110kgs prior to leaving for Adelaide and Hong Kong and the other day he benched 135kgs, a massive improvement, but you're not going to make my team just because you're benching more than a particular player in your position, or running a 40m sprint faster. You take everything into consideration.
Kurt Baker is a quick footballer but not the quickest. But then if you look at repeated speed and what he can contribute on the field he's probably my fittest player. You've got to weigh up each player, their strengths and weaknesses, and then work on specific areas with them, and a lot of that happens at the camp.
Tietjens: Fitter, faster but no lighter
The truth is that fitness requirements are different between Sevens and 15s, and my players know that. A lot of 15-a-side coaches look at the Sevens and assume that I'm shedding the weight off the players, but in actual fact the way the game is going it's actually really important for a Sevens player to retain weight now.
We look at what they're eating with our nutritionist, both in and outside of the camps, and there are a lot of guidelines for them to meet, but we now have the results to actually prove to those 15-a-side coaches who dread the players coming to the Sevens that they don't lose weight and in some cases they've actually increased in weight, while also becoming fitter than they've ever been, and a better player than they've ever been too.
You can ask players that have gone on to become All Blacks what they learnt from the Sevens - someone like an Anthony Tuitavake or a Cory Jane, a Tamati Ellison or a Liam Messam - and they'll tell you about the regime, having to work hard, develop the training work ethic and everything around that. These guys attribute a lot of their success to what they learnt in the Sevens.
Seven matchwinners
A lot of the fans out there at the games and watching on TV will have seem that we're talking about a much more physical game now. In the past the ideal Sevens gameplan was using the width of the field and creating more space with your steppers for the pacemen. You probably relied on two or three players to win you tournaments.
Now you have to have a minimum of seven players out there who can all contribute, can all defend and who all have an X-factor to some degree. Pace is a huge ingredient but all of the players need pace now and you also need players who can keep hold of the ball for long periods. Everyone has to be fitter and you can see that with Samoa, the form team of the moment, and a number of other teams like Kenya - they're all fit, defend well and retain the ball.
You talk of 15s and defensive lines being important - no more so than in Sevens. In our game one line break can cost you a game and cost you a tournament - it's as simple as that.
Next week... read Gordon's views on his side's battle with Series leaders Samoa and the upcoming European climax to the World Series in England and Scotland.
Video: Watch Samoa v New Zealand as part of Hong Kong highlights
