FLY-HALF Dan Carter was surprised to be lining up at inside centre for the Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia in Hong Kong but the New Zealand star insisted he is relishing the challenge.

Carter, considered one of the finest stand-offs in world rugby, has been moved to number 12 for the encounter at Hong Kong Stadium to accommodate Stephen Donald following the 24-year-old's inspirational performance against the same opponents in Brisbane.

Donald was introduced for the final 30 minutes at Suncorp Stadium last month and helped the All Blacks launch a fightback that ultimately saw them edge the home side 28-24 and collect the 2008 Tri-Nations title.

Having been assured by the management the switch is only temporary, Carter was enthusiastic about the decision ahead of Saturday's contest.

"It's quite surreal actually,’’ he said.

"It's where I'd played a couple of seasons professionally. It's a new challenge because it has been so long. I'm really looking forward to it.

"The coaches have made it clear it's not going to be a permanent move so that's good because I'm probably more suited to the number 10 jersey but that 30 minutes in Brisbane when Steve came on, he made a real difference and I think he really deserves his chance at having a start.

"At certain stages in the game, we can swap with our left-foot and right-foot combination. There's certain parts of the field you'd prefer to kick from so we'll be looking at it during the week.

"I'm not the biggest guy but I'll just have to get into it, I might be a bit sorer than usual afterwards!’’ All Black coach Graham Henry had stressed the need for "two navigators’’ on the field was behind his team selection but Carter conceded he will have to curb his natural instinct to direct proceedings when operating in the midfield.

"That's something I've been working on all week. Because I'm so used to calling the moves, I need to pull back and let him (Donald) run the show,’’ the 26-year-old added.

"He's more than capable, he does it extremely well for Chiefs and Waikato so I just have to sit back and still provide that voice but more from phase play, providing options and let him know what's going on from phase play.

"I know when I'm playing at 10 if you have a lot of voices providing you options it makes your job a lot easier so my main role is to make the job as easy as I can for Stephen.’’ Saturday's game marks the first of a six-match schedule that moves on to the northern hemisphere with games against Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England as well as European champions Munster.

While Carter recognised the enormity of the task facing New Zealand, he believes there is every possibility they could still return home undefeated.

"It's extremely tough, playing the Wallabies first up is always a huge challenge and the Grand Slam is never an easy feat,’’ he said.

"It's a challenge we're really looking forward to, we're going out to win every game. It's by no means going to be easy but this team is prepared to put in the yards and the best effort we can.’’ Carter decided to sit out Canterbury's recent Air New Zealand Cup campaign but insisted he is in prime condition despite a lack of match practice.

He also and said it was a necessary decision given he will be playing for French side Perpignan at the end of the All Blacks tour, which could mean a potential 18 months without rest.

"It was a decision from myself and I worked through that with Canterbury and it'll pay off later on next year,’’ he stressed.

"Obviously there's a big question with going over to France the break that I'll get and I've had that break so I'm happy with the way things went the last few weeks.

"I've had a really good break and I'm ready to go. It's pretty similar to having a good off-season. I've been doing a lot of work on my fitness and physical side of things over the last three to four weeks so I'm in good shape and ready to play Test match rugby again.’’