Wellington rugby player dies soon after All Blacks take Webb Ellis Cup to his bedside

All Blacks Dane Coles, Ma'a Nonu and Victor Vito have taken the Webb Ellis Cup to a hospice in the capital...

A Wellington club rugby player has died a day after three of his All Black friends visited him at his Wellington hospice bed, bringing him the Webb Ellis Cup.

Several friends confirmed on social media that Misiluni Moananu passed away on Tuesday morning.

Wellington All Blacks Dane Coles, Ma'a Nonu and Victor Vito took the Cup to visit the 38-year-old, who was suffering from bowel cancer.

Moananu watched the World Cup final from his hospital bed, and was moved to the Mary Potter Hospice the next day, Stuff has reported. The All Black stars spent about two hours with Moananu, who was not fully conscious.

Big love & thanks to the usos Dane Coles, @maavelous and @VictorVito1103 for visiting Luni in Hospice #StrongForLuni pic.twitter.com/hMWZLFXpGu

— Evan Belford (@EvanBelford) November 8, 2015

Moananu was a premier player for Poneke and coached for various clubs an schools. His older brother Fa'atoto said Moananu knew Coles through Poneke, and the other two All Blacks from the Wellington rugby scheme.

"We consider those guys good mates...we are all from the eastern suburbs," he said.
Moananu's identical twin brother Misipalauni said: "He would have been humbled, excited, and a bit shy."

"He is not a guy who likes to be the centre of attention. He would have appreciated it, though."

New Zealand Rugby wants the cup to be shared with the community although requests must be approved by senior management and a staff member manages the visits.