Flutey a firm member of the red rose gang

If Riki Flutey's muscles give an involuntary twitch and his lips want to mouth the Maori war chant 'Ka Mate, Ka Mate' when he watches the All Blacks perform the Haka at Twickenham it would hardly be surprising.

It is all the England centre ever wanted to do when he was growing up back home in New Zealand and playing rugby with the men who seek to complete England's autumn humiliation on Saturday.

Flutey played in the junior World Cup in 1999 when his contemporaries were such star All Blacks as current captain Richie McCaw, arguably the world's greatest rugby forward, back row Rodney So'oialo and hooker Keven Mealamu.

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Piri Weepu, a replacement scrum-half on Saturday, acted as Flutey's ball-boy at school.

The memories are warm and the friendships firm. Too firm for Flutey, who led the war dance in New Zealand's under-age teams, to indulge in an alternative Haka as enacted by Munster's contingent of New Zealanders when they met the All Blacks recently.

Instead he will be blasting out 'God Save The Queen' in honour of the nation which has fulfilled his ambition of international rugby at the age of 28.

Flutey, who qualifies for England on the grounds of residency after joining London Irish in 2005 before moving on to Wasps, said: "It would be inappropriate to do a Haka against the All Blacks.

"I do know the words to God Save the Queen and I'll sing it loud and proud. In the back of my mind I might be humming the national anthem (of New Zealand) but I'm part of this culture now.

"I'm excited. It is a big moment for me. When I was in New Zealand I didn't take the opportunities I had. Playing over here week in and week out has really helped my game and to get this opportunity is fantastic."

Flutey did play for New Zealand Under-21s, New Zealand Maori and Wellington Hurricanes in the Super 14, but his reputation as a utility back weighed against him when it came to the shirt he prized most.

There is no doubting his experience, however, nor his defensive solidity and his phlegmatic personality, which remains unruffled by heavy defeats against Australia and South Africa.

Flutey, who was replaced after suffering a twinge in his hamstring against the Springboks, is desperate to receive quicker ball this weekend to demonstrate his true talent.

He said: "We were very disappointed with the South Africa result. We have to learn from mistakes and trust the systems we have in place here.

"In the Australia game I thought I made some good go-forward opportunities but there is a lot of room for a better individual performance from myself.

"You need quick ball to play off. In terms of breaking the line and scoring the try it hasn't come off for me but it is about having patience when we do go forward, not trying to push the pass."

This week he teams up with new fly-half Toby Flood after having seen Wasps team-mate Danny Cipriani dropped. They hold the key to England's midfield creativity following an intensive training week at their Bagshot headquarters.

Flutey is intelligent and softly spoken. Shy even. Until, that is, he grabs the microphone and indulges in his passion for karaoke, where he is renowned for his rendition of Lionel Richie classics.

Flutey's mum, Ruby, and step-dad, Selwyn, have both been in England for the last few weeks and will be at the game.

The chances of Flutey shocking his former team-mates, however, are not good, especially following the last fortnight and a summer tour which threw up two New Zealand victories in what ostensibly were mismatches.

Yet Flutey remains optimistic.

"We have guys who were really disappointed in their performances when they went down to New Zealand," he said. "A lot of those guys will want to put that right."