England centre Riki Flutey says he may find it hard not to hum the New Zealand national anthem before Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.

His fondness for God Defend New Zealand is understandable, given that Flutey was born in Wairarapa and only qualified to play for England on residency grounds in September.

Flutey, who plays for London Wasps and has lived in England for three years, said: "I do know the words to God Save The Queen and I sing it loud and proud but I may hum along to the New Zealand anthem as well. However, I am very much part of this culture now."

The moment that will really bring his dramatic change in national allegiance home will be the Haka, where former team-mates will throw down a traditional challenge to Flutey, who used to perform it for opponents as a member of the New Zealand Maori side.

Former All Black Doug Howlett and fellow Kiwis now playing for Munster did their own Haka last week before the teams met in Ireland as a mark of respect. Flutey is not planning a solo effort at Twickenham and is sure his team-mates will not cause the same controversy the Welsh did last week, when they refused to let the New Zealander's pass following the dance at the Millennium Stadium.

That action drew a warning from All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu yesterday that England should be wary of showing the same level of disrespect and Flutey said: "I saw what the guys at Munster did when they played the All Blacks but I am not going to be doing a Haka.

"They used that as more of a welcome and it would be inappropriate to do that against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday. I am now part of the English culture and respect it. There's no danger of me joining in when the All Blacks do it.

"I am really excited to face the Haka and I have played with and against most of the All Blacks in my career. I looked at coming over here as a chance to get a lot of game time and a couple of years ago people started talking about an option of me playing for England and now I get the opportunity it's fantastic."

The 28-year-old was hoping to build on his improved performance against Australia in last Saturday's clash with South Africa but a hamstring problem forced him off early in the first half. It was a sensible decision as the pain was coming from scar tissue left by a complete tear of the hamstring which put Flutey out of rugby for two months in February.

It was during this enforced lay-off that Flutey returned to New Zealand to consult family and friends about his decision to try to play Test rugby for England. Former All Black hooker Norm Hewitt convinced Flutey to switch countries and, with his hamstring on the mend, the centre is ready to face the Kiwis and expects England to prove they have learnt from defeats by the Wallabies and Springboks.

Flutey said: "The hamstring tightened up in the first 10 minutes and I made the right decision to come off. I didn't want it to blow out all together and the scan on Sunday showed a bit of fluid around the old scar tissue from the injury I suffered in February.

"If I had played on it could have been another eight weeks out instead of getting it right in four or five days. We have to learn from our mistakes. We were camped in the South African 22 for some time and we needed patience. We didn't need to go that extra metre.

"The All Blacks are a very dangerous side and every one of their players can carry the ball and has good footwork. They all play like backs with a good skill level and that's why they convert so many opportunities into points.

"I played with Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu and Rodney So'oialo in all the New Zealand age group sides and if my England team-mates want to ask about certain players, I will sit down and have a chat.

"There is a lot of room for improvement from me and I am looking forward to the challenge. We haven't crossed the line to score those tries and it is case of patience and sticking to our systems and not pushing the pass."