He made the England tighthead shirt his own during the RBS 6 Nations and now Davey Wilson is relishing taking on the world champions.
Bath Rugby prop Wilson was handed a place in the Red Rose front-row midway through the tournament after Leicester Tigers' Dan Cole suffered a season-ending neck injury.
The 28-year-old went on to put in three bruising shifts against Ireland, Wales and Italy as England just missed out on championship glory, finishing runners-up to the Irish.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster will surely have taken note and Wilson now seems certain to retain his starting spot in their three- Test tour of New Zealand in June.
Wilson said: "It's going to be a massive challenge.
"The All Blacks are the best in the world and those games are all back to back and down in their own back yard.
"It'll be a great experience to go down there. They are the best team in the world for a good reason, because they perform well all year round.
"But that's what we are looking forward to. We are going to test ourselves against the best. We'll see where we are after that."
Wilson's England performances are all the more remarkable considering he had only just recovered from a lengthy calf injury.
A 45-minute stint in an Aviva Premiership win over Exeter Chiefs was Wilson's only game time in ten weeks before being thrown in against the Irish.
"Just before the tournament I didn't even know if I was going to be involved at all. I was injured and hadn't had much rugby," said Wilson.
"But it's worked out all right. I was massively pleased to get called up.
"The first game was quick and physical and I was blowing a bit towards the end but after that I felt good.
"It was a good test and I think I am in a good place to crack on now for the rest of the season."
Despite thrashing Italy 52-11 on Saturday, England had to settle for a third Six Nations runners-up finish in as many years after Ireland edged to a nervy 22-20 win in France.
Although disappointed to miss out on a championship winners' medal, Wilson is happy with where England are 18 months before a home World Cup.
Wilson said: "It wasn't out of our hands because we could have made something happen. If we didn't let that try in and maybe scored one more it could have made a different and it could have put Ireland under a bit more pressure.
"We would have liked to win it but it's gone, we'll learn from it, push on from it and hopefully be better players for it.
"I think we have to happy with the progress.
"There's been a few players missing and we have brought a lot of players through.
"We have to be pleased with the way we are building up to the World Cup."
