Blues fullback Michael Collins says heading north to play for Welsh domestic side Scarlets helped prepare him for Super Rugby.
His second outing for the Blues is set to be a vastly different match for Collins than the Rebels demolition with the Auckland side heading down State Highway One to play the Chiefs.
And he's aware just how hard it'll be against one of the best tactical kickers in the game in Aaron Cruden.
"When you're a fullback, you look at the 10s and the kickers they've got," Collins told Newshub.
"They've got James [Lowe] with the left foot then obviously [Damian] McKenzie and what not so they've got plenty of options."
Starting his rugby career with Otago in the Mitre 10 Cup, Collins received a call-up from former Auckland coach Wayne Pivac in 2015 to go north to play for Scarlets in Europe's Pro 12 competition.
Scoring three tries in 16 appearances for the Llanelli-based side, Collins said it was a hugely beneficial year for his rugby development.
"I shot over to Wales last year, that was probably the best thing for me, getting outside my comfort zone and having a crack.
"We played a bit in the Heineken cup, Champions Cup in Wales a wee bit, in front of 60,000-odd people.
"Then Tana [Umaga] rang up for me to come have a dabble up here and I've tried to come up open minded and put my best foot forward."
Despite the Blues possessing a lot of star power in 2017, Collins will start at fullback for the second consecutive time and said the trust that had been placed in him by Umaga has helped him feel at home in the side.
"It's good to get that consistency and build on it.
"It makes your job pretty easy when you're just running support lines and look for an offload, you can't keep up with them most of the time.
Newshub.