Vilimoni Koroi has his eyes and ears wide open this week. Photo / Thinkstock.
Vilimoni Koroi has his eyes and ears wide open this week.
Why wouldn't he, having just entered the All Blacks Sevens squad as one of four rookies keen to impress and seize their chance, should it come, this weekend at the Wellington World Series event.
Koroi is on a steep,
but enjoyable, learning curve, having only finished his last school exam a matter of two months ago. He is rooming with an older, wiser head in Auckland's Rocky Khan, who is bringing him up to speed with what is expected of a professional athlete, both on and off the field. The high fitness levels required are his biggest challenge at the moment.
"He's been helping me with the moves and stuff like that in our down time. I pick his brain most of the time. When he's trying to sleep, I'm trying to work. It's good to have Rocky in the room," says the 18-year-old, a big fan of Ben Smith.
Koroi is now with Otago, but is fresh out of Feilding High School, with whom he made the NZ Schools (15s) in October as a wing/fullback and NZ Schools (7s) in December. He has pace and no little skill in his bag of tricks.
