Singapore rugby players Tim Pan and Viviyan Philip have set playing in an Olympic Games sevens tournament as their long-term goals.
Should the 16-year-olds tick this goal off in 2020 or 2024 Hawke's Bay Rugby Union's player development manager Joe Payton and talent development co-ordinator Jason Shoemark will be able to take some of the credit. Philip and Pan are the first players to undertake one of the union's global academy courses run by former Magpie Shoemark and Payton.
The St Andrew's Secondary School pair are seen as future elite players in Singapore. They arrived in the Bay on Tuesday night and will leave on Friday.
They have already had nutrition, mental skills and gym sessions. First five-eighth Pan and outside centre Philip, who are teammates in the Singapore Combined Schools under-16 team, have also had counter-attacking and high ball sessions with the Magpies All Black fullback Israel Dagg and goalkicking sessions with the Magpies goalkicking coach and technical adviser Peter O'Shaughnessy.
"We watch television coverage of the Magpies games back in Singapore. It was good to attend their Captain's Run today and see how organised they are," Pan said.