Former New Zealand 7s coach Sir Gordon Tietjens opted to coach Samoa and not pursue the coaching job left vacant by Ben Ryan simply because the Fiji 7s team is already the best team in the world.
Sir Tietjens, who has been appointed the Samoan 7s team coach, revealed this in an interview with this newspaper last night.
"They were already at the top, they are already the best team in the world," he said, referring to the Fiji 7s team.
He made the comments in response to questions by this newspaper that have lingered in the minds of all Fijians where at one point he was rumoured to be one of the contenders for the Fiji 7s team coach.
Dubbed as the greatest New Zealand 7s coach, his arrival to join his new team is seen as a morale-booster for the Samoan side that will participate in the 2016 Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship. The tournament starts at the ANZ Stadium in Suva today.
According to Sir Tietjens, he came to Fiji to assist the outgoing Samoan coach Steven Betham and also to gauge the Samoan players' performance.
"Yeah, I am here just to have a good look at the team that is playing here and also provide a little bit of assistance to help Steven in the first few couple of tournaments."
Sir Tietjens confirmed he will officially take over as Samoa coach at the Wellington 7s tournament that will begin on January 28 next year.