Australian debutant James Tamou couldn’t stop his knees from shaking on the interchange bench at Eden Park on Friday night.

He had just stared down the Kiwi haka – a ritual the New Zealand-born goliath had every reason to think he would be performing rather than standing opposite, having been part of the Kiwi set-up just months ago.

But having made his decision last week to play for his adopted nation rather than his country of birth, the 23-year-old had no regrets.

“Absolutely not, I’m proud to put on the green and gold and chose the winning side tonight – so I’m one from one,” Tamou said after Australia’s 20-12 win in Auckland.

“It was awesome, unreal – still trying to soak it all in.”

But it was also a gut-churner, particularly during the haka.

“I think two thirds of the (Kiwi) team were staring straight at me, so I knew it was going to be on,” he said.

“I knew once I got out there, with the help from the boys, I’d go well.

“There was a fair bit (of niggle), but that’s rugby league.”

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens was satisfied with the prop’s output, which yielded 19 tackles and 77 metres from ten hit-ups.

“He was nervous first up, he went okay,” said Sheens.

“Second stint was good. I thought it was a good performance.”

With his Test debut out of the way, Tamou now has his sights set on a NSW jumper, as he rubbished claims he only switched allegiances because of the money on offer for playing Origin football.

“I’ve heard it and I couldn’t believe it,” Tamou said of the allegations.

“The excitement of State of Origin, it’s one of the most viewed things on television, it’s awesome and I want to one day hopefully be a part of it.”