Doug Tietjens (born 7 February 1984) is a former Australian-born New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who last played as a

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

for

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

in the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

, having shifted north to the province after 45 matches with Manawatu from 2008 to 2012.

Domestic career

Although he was born in Australia, Tietjens grew up in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and attended school in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

. He moved south to attend the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in 2004, and was selected to

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

B sides in 2006 and 2007 but never played for the full Otago provincial squad. Returning north in 2008, Tietjens cracked the Manawatu squad for the

2008 Air New Zealand Cup The 2008 National Provincial Championship was the third season of the National Provincial Championship (known as the Air New Zealand Cup for sponsorship reasons), a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand, since it ...

. He continues as a solid squad player for the Turbos for the next few seasons, before having a breakout year in the

2011 ITM Cup The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago (National Provincial Championship), Otago hosted North Harbour ...

, scoring 4 tries for a vastly improved side. Tietjens missed the entire

2012 ITM Cup 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

after suffering a major knee injury while playing Super Rugby. For the

2013 ITM Cup The 2013 ITM Cup season was the eighth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on 15 August, when Counties Manukau (National Provincial Championship), Counties Man ...

, Tietjens moved to

and made 8 appearances in his comeback from serious injury.

Super Rugby

After his strong season with Manawatu in 2011, Tietjens was signed by the Highlanders for the

2012 Super Rugby season The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included tea ...

. He made 6 appearances for the club before his season was ended prematurely by a serious knee injury.

References

External links

Manawatu Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tietjens, Doug 1984 births Highlanders (rugby union) players Living people New Zealand rugby union players Manawatu rugby union players Taranaki rugby union players Rugby union players from Palmerston North People educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School Rugby union flankers 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen