Lomu, Campo in Sevens 'dream team'
Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:17
New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens has named All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu and Wallaby flyer David Campese in his all-time best Hong Kong team on the final day of the Sevens tournament.
New Zealand have won seven of the eight International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens World Series titles under Tietjens and after five consecutive tournament wins are runaway leaders at the top of the 2007/08 standings.
The coach's selection, posted on the IRB website, names the "frightening" Lomu as a forward.
"Jonah was just frightening when he first arrived on the scene. He was so fast as a forward, immensely strong obviously in the contact areas and so big. He took so many players out of the game defensively.
"Someone so big having a step and acceleration at the size he was, and fast as well, was just unbelievable really to have him here playing Sevens.
"He was 18 when he first came here to Hong Kong and went on to do three Hong Kongs with me."
Campese, who was with the Australian team in Hong Kong as an assistant coach, is in the team as the "all-time best flyer" with All Black Christian Cullen joining him among the backs.
"For me the all-time best flyer, when he was really quick and at his best was David Campese. Magical skills, a lovely step in and out."
He praised Cullen's "support play, one-on-one ability, lovely swerve, a step, just all the skills and very fit and focused."
Other forwards in his fantasy team are New Zealander Eric Rush as skipper and Mesaki Raseri, "one of the most outstanding Fiji Sevens rugby players I've ever seen."
New Zealand's Amasio Valence Raoma and Fiji's legendary Waisale Serevi complete the back line, a man with "such a presence on a rugby field, he just commanded respect."
Tietjens names himself as coach.
"With a team like that, in their prime, the team talk would basically be 'guys just go out and express yourselves and showcase your skills,' and that would be it," he said on the website.
"And they would, they'd do that, they'd complement each other, every one of them. Power, size, skills, speed. The complete Sevens team."
