Fijian international Pita Rabo has been appointed player-coach of the Wairarapa United men's soccer side for the 2007 season.
The 26-year?old Rabo, who has played for Fiji, not only at soccer but also at rugby sevens, first joined Wairarapa United two years ago and became a vital part of the side
which won the Capital first division title, and with it promotion to the premier division in 2006,
And the gifted striker continued to be one of their leading goal scorers when they finished a very creditable third in the premier division series last season.
The fact Rabo's coaching experience has been mainly confined to tutoring players of school age, does not faze the man he replaces as Wairarapa United coach, Phil Keinzley,
Rather, Keinzley points to the fact Rabo had the benefit of playing under some high profile overseas coaches while in Fiji, something which had provided him with valuable insight into what was required to make a successful coach.
"He (Rabo) has always impressed as a thinking player and that is an attribute which will obviously be of a big assist in the coaching role," Keinzley said. "He is a good student of the game, he knows all the ins and outs of it."
Keinzley said Rabo's respect from his peers was well illustrated by him being named as Wairarapa United's Player's Player of the Year two seasons ago, an award voted on by the players themselves.
"He's shown leadership qualities on and off the field, he's been very popular within the team," he said
The fact practically all of last year's squad will be available again in 2007 is seen as another factor in Rabo's favour as it meant he would already have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.But it did not necessarily follow that those players would automatically be part of the side again, that was something that Rabo would need to assess on the basis of what style of soccer he intended to have the team play
"If Pita believes some areas need to be strengthened then that's what we will endeavour to do," Keinzley said. "It's his team now and we need to do everything we can to provide him with the type of players he thinks he can the job for him. That's where the focus has to be over the next few weeks."