Kydd caught the eye of Scotland's selectors during his first year in the English Premiership, with Bath and then Saracens, and his campaign for a first Test cap will start at Ballymore.

The 22-year-old, one of six players making their first senior starts for Scotland, faces a significant test of his international credentials against a virtually full-strength Queensland outfit.

"You always have goals and mine at the weekend are to go out there and play as well as I can and push for a Test spot," said Kydd.

"When I left New Zealand for the UK I had to change my ambitions because you can't play for the All Blacks when you are overseas.

"The Scottish interest started when I joined Bath. They were watching me from there, keeping an eye on me.

"I have only been in the UK for a year so it has all happened quite quickly."

Kydd secured a regular starting role with Saracens and impressed Williams, who he will develop into a central figure for the 2007 World Cup.

"With the retirement of so many backs since the last World Cup we have been casting our net wider in the search for Scottish players," said Williams.

"Robbie is currently playing in the Premiership and this tour is about development. His age puts him in the right bracket for Rugby World Cup 2007 and he can also play full-back or wing.

"The point about this tour is that it is part of our four-year plan that we devised last August to take us towards the next World Cup."

In four attempts, Scotland have never beaten Queensland but ending that run is not Williams' chief priority.

Along with Kydd, five other players will start their first game for Scotland, including wingers Sean Lamont and Hugo Southwell.

"As we said, there are so many players making their first start, we are looking for the process. It is the first step for the vast majority of this team," Williams said.

"Really, what we are looking for is a process of how we play, how we defend, how we attack and these guys have just been exposed to that and we are looking for them to put that into practice.

"We are here to win every game, but whether we win, or whether we lose, the process of development continues. We are on tour to give these guys opportunities against high-quality opposition like Queensland and NSW.

"We have a long-term goal and we have got 18 months of very hard work ahead."