Singapore Rugby Appoints Paul Tietjens as National Teams 7s Head Coach On Multi-year Deal

rugbyasia247 Posted On January 27, 2025

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Singapore & Kazakhstan Women - Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series Bangkok 7s 2024

The Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) has announced the appointment of Paul Tietjens as the National Teams 7s Head Coach on a multi-year deal.

The seasoned New Zealand coach will bring a “wealth of experience in both sevens and fifteens rugby, and will take charge of Singapore’s men’s and women’s sevens programs as part of a multi-year deal aimed at elevating the nation’s presence on the global stage” said the SRU via a media release.

SRU President Sunny Seah said of Tietjens’ appointment, “Paul’s extensive coaching experience in the international arena and proven track record in sevens rugby make him the ideal candidate to lead Singapore’s national teams. Coming from a NZ family steep in rugby traditions, his well-honed expertise in rugby coaching will be instrumental in building a competitive and sustainable sevens program for Singapore. The Union looks forward to Paul Tietjens’ contribution in the next chapter of Singapore Rugby”.

The national 7s sides were relegated from the top tier of Asian rugby (Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series) in 2024 and will be competing in the second tier which is the Trophy Series in 2025*. The regional governing body is yet to release any dates for the 2025 tournament calendar. The SEA Games also take place in Bangkok, Thailand towards the end of 2025.

*This is our understanding based on what was communicated last year during the Sevens Series and not only reported by ourselves but by several media. We have heard rumours things may change but we all await a 2025 competition calendar and structure to be released by Asia Rugby.

Singapore Rugby Appoints Paul Tietjens as National Teams 7s Head Coach

You can read our interview with SRU GM Sidney Kumar from 2024 here.

Paul Tietjens – Rugby Coaching Experience

Paul Tietjens’ career highlights include leading the New Zealand Selection side at the Howard Hinton Sevens in France in 2016, where he guided Olympic hopefuls Isaac Te Aute, Isaac Te Tamaki and Beaudein Waaka, and in 2021, he served as head coach for Te Puke Sports in New Zealand’s Baywide rugby competition. He was also the Head Coach of the EggChasers rugby invitational side at the recent HSBC Dubai SVNS in December 2024 and he has previously won the Grenada Rugby World 7’s in 2022 with them.

Within New Zealand Rugby, he has held head coaching roles with the Chiefs in the Elevate 7s tournament and the Bay of Plenty Volcanix in the Farah Palmer Cup competition.

In terms of international experience, Paul Tietjens coached Papua New Guinea’s women’s sevens team in their Olympic qualification campaign, and he was also the Strength Conditioning and Skills Coach (S&C) for the Samoa Men’s 7s team.

If you had not guessed already, Paul is the son of legendary Sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens who has been at the helm of NZ 7s men, Samoa 7s Men and more recently worked with the Chinese rugby 7s program.

Paul Tietjens started his role with the SRU on January 27 2025 and said; “Singapore has immense potential in rugby sevens, and I am both grateful and honoured to lead their national teams. My vision is to develop and sustain a high-performance environment which allows the players to be the best version of themselves and succeed on the international stage.”

Singapore Rugby Union is holding open trials for the national women’s and men’s teams on 16 February 2025.