Passion for rugby draws coach here

When Spain won the FIFA World Cup in South Africa recently, Pablo Moscoloni was one of a tiny minority in the country who sighed and raised his eyes to the heavens.
The Spanish U-19 rugby coach, who is in Whangarei for a month studying the game in Northland, knew that the result would mean the growth of rugby there would slow.
"Like most countries, everyone loves a winner and now every Spanish kid wants to win a World Cup in football, and that makes it harder for rugby," he said.
Moscoloni said rugby has come a long way in Spain since he has lived there, but although the national team does well in sevens rugby, the 15-man game still has a long way to go before the country can compete at the top international level.
Born in Argentina, the former No8 followed his father into rugby and now helps coach the Spanish forward pack, which he readily admits is a big challenge. When Moscoloni was young, his father took him to a match between the Pumas and the All Blacks that had a big impact on him.
"It was the first time I'd seen the haka live, in that moment I began to form an idea of coming to New Zealand, where they are as passionate as me about about rugby."
A mutual friend arranged for Pablo, and his son Augustine, to stay with Whangarei's David and Marie Olsen for his time in New Zealand. The couple are rugby fans and Moscoloni said that was fortunate.
"Maybe they won't be able to watch rugby for two or three months after I've left, because everyday I'm here, it's rugby, rugby, rugby for me," he said.
The father and son had to be enticed into travelling down to Rotorua for some "non-rugby" tourism - with tickets to the Waikato-Southland ITM Cup match last night in nearby Hamilton.
The Argentine's trip has been getting some publicity in international rugby circles with news of his trip reported in several sports publications both in Spain and Argentina. He has also set up a Facebook page to document his travels.
Moscoloni said the sport in Argentina has been thrown a lifeline by the IRB, which recommended Los Pumas be included in the Tri-Nations competition from 2012 - a decision that followed their third place in the 2007 World Cup in France.
While in Whangarei, Moscoloni has met and discussed rugby with Northland coach Bryce Woodward, Northland Academy coach Bruce Robinson and almost anyone who shares his passion for the game. He has been looked after by the Whangarei Marist Club, who arranged for his son to play two games to compensate for missing the start of the season in Spain.
The coach hopes to set up an exchange for rugby players and coaches to visit his club in Spain - the Costa Del Sol club based in sun-drenched Malaga on the south coast.
"I had the opportunity to come and I came about the rugby - it's the best place to learn," he said.
Unlike Spain or even Argentina, rugby is the major sport in New Zealand and it is a thrill for Moscoloni to see kids playing games at parks - something he usually only sees with a round ball.