United sign top Fijian

A second major signing has been confirmed for the Wairarapa United men's soccer team for the 2005 season.
He is Fijian international Laisiasa Gataurua who has been part of his country's premier side since 2003.
His signing follows hard on the heels of news that former New Zealand senior and age group representative Andrew Taylor was returning from England early next year and had agreed to make himself available for Wairarapa United.
Whereas Taylor mainly plays in the defence Gataurua is a midfielder and striker and has already scored six goals in the 2004 national club league in Fiji which has only been in progress in three weeks.
Gataurua was first "noticed" in 1998 when he was a trialist for the Fiji under-17 side and in 2001 and 2002 he played for their under-20 combination.
In 2003 he was part of the Fijian senior national team which won the gold medal at the South Pacific Games and he has retained his position in that side this year.
The respect with which Gataurua is held in Fijian soccer circles is spelt out in a memorandum from the Fiji Football Association's chief executive officer B.S Kumar.
"Laisiasa has earned respect and admiration of many through his playing abilities," he writes. "He has always shown fair play and respect for referees and opponents. Laisiasa has been a good ambassador for soccer and impressed Fiji officials with his performance."
Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley expects Gataurua to arrive in New Zealand on December 19. Temporary employment has already been found for him and he will be residing in Carterton.
Keinzley sees Gataurua adding considerable sting to the Wairarapa United attack.
"He is a proven goal scorer and you can't get enough of those," he said.
Meanwhile, Keinzley has missed out on his bid to become a member of the Wairarapa soccer advisory group, the controlling body of the sport in the Wairarapa region.
Six stood for the five vacancies on the group and with just four of 21 clubs eligible to vote actually doing so Keinzley was overlooked in favour Paul Watkinson, Linda Jack, Mike McMullen, Andrew Kerr and Neville Dewbery.
While disappointed at the way the vote went Keinzley has no sour grapes and remains hopeful the group will see the establishment of a strong Wairarapa United reserve team as a major priority, along with the selection of quality coaches for the various Wairarapa age group sides.
He believes it vital for the survival of Wairarapa United that their reserve team ? which will play at local league level ? contains the region's most promising talent, including the leading college players.
"It will be the feeder team for the premier side and as such we need it to be a very competitive unit," he said. "It's the base for Wairarapa United teams of the future and we can't afford to sell it short."