Nathan Catt says he is taking a step into the unknown with the England Saxons side at the Churchill Cup but he is determined to take full advantage of the opportunity.
The Bath Rugby prop has represented England at Under 18, Under 19 and Under 20 level and, after making solid progress in the Bath front row this season, has earned a call-up to Stuart Lancaster's squad.
The Saxons EPS flew out to New Jersey on Tuesday and face Russia in their first match on Wednesday, June 9 at 10pm (BST), televised live on Sky Sports.
And 22-year-old Catt says he is raring to get out on the pitch and show what he can do.
"As soon as I found out I was going I was pretty ecstatic," he said.
"I'm looking forward to getting out on the pitch - there's a few boys I played 20s with so I'm looking forward to meeting up with them and playing in an England shirt again.
"I haven't played this form of international rugby before and I don't know what to expect. We need to train hard and get in the best shape we can and then take that onto the pitch."
Catt's mobility in the loose and strength in the tight has made a big impact at Bath, leading to his naming as the club's Most Improved Player for 2010.
He made 12 senior appearances in a pack gleaming with full internationals and is hoping to take that form into the Saxons' North American tour, where he admits playing a mile above sea level will be a challenge.
"I'm not the greatest long distance runner anyway so it might be difficult," he added.
"I haven't played at altitude before but we've been training in chambers recently to try and prepare in the best possible way. It starts off pretty hard but the boys have been working on it so by the time of the first game we should be fine.
"I've been working hard to get into the Bath team and I've managed to sneak in there a bit this year - now I've managed to the Churchill Cup squad so I'm concentrating on pushing myself and progressing a bit further."
England Saxons 2010 Churchill Cup fixtures:
Wednesday, June 9
Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
England Saxons v Russia (kick off 3.00pm, local time, BST-7)
Sunday, June 13
Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado
USA v England Saxons (kick off 1.00pm, local time, BST-7)
Saturday, June 19
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
Finals Day triple header (kick off TBC)
2010 Churchill Cup England Saxons Squad
Forwards
Duncan Bell (Bath Rugby)
Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby)
Alex Corbiserio (London Irish)
Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)
Graham Kitchener (Worcester Warriors)
James Hudson (Newcastle Falcons).
Tom Lindsay (London Wasps)
Kearnan Myall (Leeds Carnegie)
Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby)
Andy Saull (Saracens)
George Skivington (London Wasps)
Andy Titterrell (Leeds Carnegie)
Rob Vickers (Newcastle Falcons)
Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Wood (Worcester Warriors)
Backs
Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)
Anthony Allen (Leicester Tigers)
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Jon Clarke (Northampton Saints)
Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints)
James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby)
Ollie Smith (Montpellier)
Tom Varndell (London Wasps)
Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons)
