He grew up idolising the All Blacks, but Wallabies debutant Curtis Rona has pledged his wholehearted allegiance to the green and gold ahead of the Bledisloe Cup opener in Sydney.

The New Zealand-born winger admits he was as surprised as anyone to receive a call from Wallabies coach Michael Cheika after just 14 Super Rugby games for the Western Force.

“I didn’t see it coming, but I know that I’ve been training really, really hard these past few weeks and I’m feeling really, really good and mentally in the game and I’m feeling 100 per cent,” Rona said.

“It’s a massive honour for me to be able to wear that gold jersey. When Cheik told me, just a lot of emotions went through me and I was just really stoked and overwhelmed.”

The 25-year-old former NRL star still carries a distinct Kiwi accent and was a huge All Blacks fan before moving to Australia.

“I idolised a lot of teams growing up. Definitely the All Blacks were a great team and I watched them growing up and watched the Wallabies playing all those classic matches and it was do or die when they played, so it was good to watch,” he said.

But he promises no conflict of interest when he runs out for Australia and says his big football-loving family are also over the moon.

“When I told them over the phone, I could hear them all yelling and screaming and carrying on, so I was really happy and I was just glad they were there to support me,” Rona said.

“I think they’re going to be wearing the gold jersey come Saturday night; definitely there to support me and my teammates.

“I’ve got a fair few brothers and sisters. I’ve got seven all up – a massive squad – and my parents are living in Townsville at the moment because my little brother’s playing under-20s there for North Queensland Cowboys, and he’s playing rugby league.

“They’re helping him out with his journey now and they helped me out with mine.”