Rory Ferguson was still in bed on Monday morning when he got a call from the New Zealand Rugby League.
The call was to tell him not only was he named in the under-16 national side to play a curtain-raiser before a Kiwis test in Whangarei in November, but that he was also named captain.
''Quite rapt,'' was how he felt.
''I rang Dad straight away.''
The call-up continues a meteoric rise for a player who only learned to play the game last year.
It is also notable for a youngster from Milton to make it so far in a game with its power base in the north.
Ferguson boards at John McGlashan College in Dunedin when not at home on the family dairy farm near Milton.
Last year he also made a national age-group squad, and was named the most valuable player at a national championship in Auckland.
The second-row forward recently returned with the under-17 South Island squad from a national youth tournament in Rotorua.
The John McGlashan First XV rugby player said ''everyone asks me'' whether he liked rugby or league better.
''I enjoy both.''
One highlight so far was meeting Canterbury NRL coach Des Hasler, whom he described as ''a very passionate man'', at a performance camp, Ferguson's father, Stafford Ferguson, said he was proud of his son, who put plenty of work into his sport.
''He could make it a career - otherwise he's got cows to milk,'' he said.
