Kiwis chasing history,
Inside Running Academy, Mt Maunganui, Thursday, 2pm
Lito Ramirez touched snow for the first time in his life on Wednesday. ‘‘I touched it, it’s like ice, and it’s cold.’’
The 21-year-old has been in New Zealand on a four-week scholarship with the Inside Running Academy at Mt Maunganui.
The young rugby player is a long way from the humidity of where he grew up in the Philippines.
He roamed the streets of Manila, after his parents abandoned him and his older brother. They often begged for food. He has no birth certificate.
But at just 1.7m tall, and about 65 kgs, Ramirez does have speed, footwork and agility.
He plays for the Mavericks club in the Philippines, which is run by Kiwis trying to grow the game within the Filipino community.
He was the first homegrown Filipino to make the national sevens team, the Volcanoes.
For the past four weeks, he has been part of a small international group training twice a day at the academy.
Sessions include hitting the gym in the morning, and rugby skill-based training in the afternoon. Eat. Sleep. Train. Repeat. ‘‘I like the people here, and how they treat people,’’ said Ramirez.
‘‘I like the players because they’re good and big. But I don’t like the weather. It’s cold. I’m always freezing.’’
Inside Running Academy director Mike Rogers says Ramirez has really come out of his shell the past few weeks.
‘‘He’s quite a shy person, but you can see by the twinkle in his eye his passion for rugby and how much he loves it.
In the four weeks he’s seen Ramirez grow in size and become stronger.
‘‘As a rugby player he’s got really good feet, speed and agility. This transfers well to the sevens game.
‘‘So here we are trying to grow his XVs game more. His strength, his technical focus around the tackle and ruck.’’
He said a lot of people ask them what it takes to become a professional player.
‘‘Our focus isn’t about turning people into All Blacks, it’s about giving them the right tools or educating them here so they can go home and continue to develop.’’