It’s fair to say it’s been a dream debut season for Sevens pair Henry Hutchison and John Porch, both off to the Olympics next month.
Hutchison and Porch were two of the surprise packets of the 2015-16 World Series, debuting in Cape Town and Wellington, respectively, before making the Rio cut.
The former was Australia’s top try scorer through the series, after being picked up from Shute Shield side Randwick.
The 19-year-old said he was still learning the game and pinching himself at the same time, upon learning his Olympic fate.
“I wouldn't have expected to be standing here talking to you about talking to the Olympics after my debut in Cape Town,” he said.
“I was 18 years old, young, fresh, not really knowing what 7s is, had to learn a lot.
“I’ve trained hard, had a good few tournaments and the snowball kept rolling from there.”
Sevens has been Porch’s dream for a long time and he still can’t quite believe that it’s going to be his profession at least until 2018, after re-signing with the program for two more years.
“To do this sport as my job is unbelievable,” he said.
“This year’s been unbelievable.
“First of all I just wanted to get a full-time sevens contract and after that happened, everything after that’s just been an added bonus.
“I'm so happy with how my year's gone and where I've got to.”
Porch, 21, said he had a pretty simple formula for rising up coach Andy Friend’s pecking order.
“I've made sure I've played the best I could every tournament and made sure I'm always training hard and giving my best at everything on and off the field,” he said.
One of the side’s most seasoned players, James Stannard, had plenty of praise for Porch.
“He's a funny character around the team,” he said.
“He likes putting in his two bob here and there and giving guys a bit of lip but he's a quality player as well.
“He’s an exciting young talent, he's quick, got a good pass on him.
“He reads the game well too. He'll definitely be a player in the future but he adds a lot of value to our team.”
