Hurricanes' second-five Tim Bateman came from back from Japan to force his way in to the All Blacks and he will get a solid gauge of where is at when he marks up against Blues No 12 Ma'a Nonu tomorrow night.
In what will be Nonu's first game against the franchise he represented 110 times from 2003-2011, Bateman said he was up for the challenge at Eden Park.
"I'm looking forward to it. Obviously he's the All Black No 12, so everyone always looks forward to playing against the best in their position in New Zealand,'' Bateman said.
"I think everyone in New Zealand probably has the same goal, but I really, really want to give my best to crack that black jersey.''
Since returning from his stint in Japan, where he played for the Coca Cola West Red Sparks, Bateman has played in all four of the Hurricanes' opening games.
He said his time in Asia was good for his own development, although the hits were still harder in the rough and rugged world of Super Rugby.
"The physicality is the main difference. Japanese rugby's good. It's a lot higher level than I thought it would've been; really fast. A lot faster than Super Rugby and it was good for me personally because it put a lot of pressure on my skills. I was getting the ball 10 times as much in a game over there as I probably would here because you're the one that gets to create and make stuff.''
Bateman, who played for the Crusaders from 2007-2010 before heading north to Japan, said he was enjoying his time in the Hurricanes who have opened their 2012 campaign with two wins and two losses.
"I've loved it so far. I haven't been back long but it's a great bunch of guys. Great coaching staff. Some people are saying it's been a good start but we are only reasonably happy with the wins. But we wanted to get at least one of the other ones too. So we are happy, but it's only a start.''
Bateman has spent the first four games outside one of the players to keep an eye on in New Zealand rugby in the form of 20-year-old Beauden Barrett.
Despite having played less than 10 Super Rugby games, Bateman paid Barrett the ultimate compliment and said the Taranaki pivot had shades of Dan Carter about him.
"He's a great player. He's got a lot of natural talent, a calm manner. He actually reminds me a little bit of Dan, playing with him, just in a nice calm manner and obviously there's a lot of talent too. It's only a start that's the thing we all know, so we need to really kick on from now.''
Bateman, who made his provincial debut for Canterbury in 2006 and has also represented the New Zealand Maori side, has provided the steady influence the Hurricanes inside backs has needed considering the inexperience of Barrett and rookie scrumhalf TJ Perenara.
Bateman's combination with centre partner and Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith continues to grow and will have a stern test of their abilities against the Blues' midfield of Nonu and Benson Stanley tomorrow.
