Lito Ramirez, a former street kid from Manila, got a scholarship to attend a rugby clinic in Mt Maunganui for four weeks.

A Time and a Place: Thursday 2pm. Mt Manganui

Lito​ Ramirez​ touched snow for the first time in his life on Wednesday.

"When I first saw the snow, I was shocked. I've only seen the fake snow.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY / FAIRFAX NZ Lito Ramirez has won a scholarship to train at Inside Running Academy for four weeks.

"I touched it, it's like ice, and it's cold."

The 21-year-old has been in New Zealand on a four-week scholarship with the Inside Running Academy in Mt Maunganui.

The young rugby player is a long way from the humidity of where he grew up on the streets of Manila, Philippines, after his parents abandoned him and his older brother.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY / FAIRFAX NZ Lito Ramirez training at the Inside Running Academy.

READ MORE: From the streets to the stadium: The rugby boy of Manila

They lived on the streets, often begging for food. He has no birth certificate.

But at just 1.7m tall, and around 65kg, Ramirez​ does have speed, footwork and agility.

ALDEN WILLIAMS / FAIRFAX NZ Lito Ramirez visits the Tuloy Foundation in Alabang, Manila.

Ramirez​ plays for the Mavericks club in the Philippines, which is run by Kiwis trying to grow the game within the Filipino community.

He was the first homegrown Filipino to make the national sevens team, the Volcanoes.

For the past four weeks, he has been part of a small international group training twice a day at the academy. Sessions include hitting the gym in the morning, and rugby skill-based trainings in the afternoon.

ALDEN WILLIAMS / FAIRFAX NZ Philippine rugby players perform a haka.

Eat. Sleep. Train. Repeat.

"I like the people here, and how they treat people," said Ramirez. "I like the players because they're good and big," Ramirez​ said.

"But I don't like the weather. It's cold. I'm always freezing."

While Ramirez​ plays sevens rugby, he is trying to develop his 15s game on the wing and fullback.

"I want to learn and get big. Got to do more weights and play hard."

Inside Running Academy director Mike Rogers said Ramirez had really come out of his shell the last few weeks.​

"He's quite a shy person, but you can see by the twinkle in his eye his passion for rugby and how much he loves it.

"It's changed his life and it's been cool to offer that experience to somebody that comes from a different background to what we're use to in New Zealand."

In the four weeks he's seen Ramirez​ grow in size and become stronger.

"As a rugby player he's got really good feet, speed and agility. This transfers well to the sevens game.

"So here we are trying to grow his fifteens game more. His strength, his technical focus around the tackle and ruck."

He said a lot of people ask them what it takes to become a professional player.

"Our focus isn't about turning people into All blacks, it's about giving them the right tools or educating them here so they can go home and continue to develop.

"Make national sides, semi-professional in their own countries, shifting the focus from us being the finishing school, to ues being the start of their development."​