At that point, the 26-year-old from Cumnock had only just broken into the Australian Rugby Sevens side and anything further than cementing that spot was a bonus, a crazy one if you’re Porch.

Last week the Orange-born Rugby Sevens gun completed his remarkable rise from club rugby gun to Australian Sevens star by being named in the team to travel to Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Crazy goal complete.

“I was stoked,” Porch told the Central Western Daily.

“We found out a little before the public announcement (on Thursday) just to give us a chance to let family and friends know, but the 24 hours leading into it was a bit uneasy.

“(I definitely didn’t expect to be named). My first goal was to get into the team and then get a few good runs under my belt. 

“Once I’d done that I had the crazy goal, and that was Rio. I can’t believe it.”

The 22-year-old is relatively new to the Sevens game, having played the majority of his rugby in the 15-man code as part of the Australian Schoolboys (2012) and NSW Schools (2012) sides and playing club rugby with Northern Suburbs.

He made his Australian Sevens debut at Wellington in January this year helping Australia to a hard-fought fifth-place finish. 

Since then, they’ve finished third in Canada, fourth in Hong Kong, seventh in Singapore and a lowly 10^th at the most recent round of the Sevens World Series in London.

However, not deterred by the obvious dip in form, Porch is confident the side, one that contains fellow Central West product Pat McCutcheon in it, will be in medal contention in Rio.

“I think we’re tracking pretty well,” the outside back side.

“The obvious goal is gold but in rugby sevens anything can happen. If we can do well out of our pool then I think we’re doing well.”

Fiji remains the firm favourites to earn gold at Rio, and that’s despite the team not picking former Parramatta Eel and San Francisco 49ers gun Jarryd Hayne as part of its Olympic squad.

Porch wasn’t surprised by the move, not from a nation that boasts easily the most diverse and dynamic pool of sevens players on the planet.

“The thing with Fiji is, there’s a million players over there capable of making their team. I’m not surprised Jarryd didn’t make it,” Porch said.

“It probably highlights to everyone there’s a pretty big difference between sevens rugby and other rugby codes.”

The men’s rugby sevens competition runs from Day 4 (August 9) to Day 6 (August 11) at the Deodoro Stadium. 

The last time Australia lined up in a rugby competition at an Olympic Games was in 1908 in London where they competed as Australasia. Rugby was last played at the 1924 Games with the USA winning gold. 

Australia has been named in Pool B alongside South Africa, France and Spain.