Croatian rugby player Daniel Mau'u is one of the key players who helped Croatia secure all three victories in the Conference division of the Rugby World Cup, the third tier of European representative rugby. Croatia defeated Slovenia, Serbia and Austria, with Mau'u performing excellently in the last three matches, scoring two tries against Austria.
Mau'u is 32 years old and weighs 130 kilograms; he is half Samoan and half Croatian. He currently lives in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, where he works on a construction site as a scaffolder for ten hours a day, from 7am to 5pm. Despite the demanding job, he manages to train in rugby after work. He has suffered numerous injuries, but says that at 32 he has become wise enough to avoid and mitigate the dangerous contacts inherent in rugby.
This year, he played for Ponsonby in New Zealand, a very well-known club that has produced many players for the All Blacks, the New Zealand national team. Mau'u feels a duty to play for Croatia and always responds to national team call-ups, even though he lives on the other side of the world. He began travelling to Croatia about five or six years ago, twice a year, except last year when he could not get time off work.
Croatia is now awaiting the outcome of other results. If the outcome is favourable, they will return to the Trophy division, the second tier of European rugby. Mau'u does not know all the details of the competition system and how it works, but he hopes for a return to the Trophy. Croatia is waiting for the final results of other national teams to determine where they will finish, after which they will learn whether they must play further matches or wait until next year, around October, to compete in the Conference again and gain a new opportunity for promotion to the Trophy.
Mau'u is not a fan of professional football and has always been a rugby player. He believes Croatia has a good foundation that can enable their return to the Trophy. Some Croatian rugby players play rugby around the world, in various countries such as the Netherlands, Ireland, Hong Kong and Bahrain. There are perhaps 100 or 200 spectators at Croatia's matches.
