While most of his Reds teammates in the Wallabies squad are being rested by coach Robbie Deans for the clash with Samoa this weekend, Digby Ioane was never going to pass up the opportunity to face his countrymen.

The fleet-footed wing has had an outstanding Super Rugby season with the Reds and capped it with a stunning try in the Final against the Crusaders so you would understand if he took the opportunity to put his feet up this weekend.

But Ioane can hardly wait to get out there and face up to his countrymen in what will be his 12th Test match for Australia.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "I'm just looking forward to this opportunity, as I'm the only Samoan player in the Wallabies team. It is a great moment, and I certainly put my hand up for it."

Ioane is the only Reds player in the starting XV for the clash in Sydney and he explained that Deans gave him the opportunity to decide whether he would play or not.

He said: "He [Deans] asked me if I wanted to play, and I replied: 'Do you want me to play?' He said, 'Yeah', so I readily agreed because I wanted to appear against my own people.

"I'm surrounded by Tongans in the Wallabies squad, and they give me a lot of grief. I'm certainly standing up for my country," added Ioane.

Ioane was born in Wellington and grew up in Melbourne but recently travelled to Samoa to meet his relatives. While there, he developed a deep interest in Samoan rugby, and while he may not be facing any blood relatives this weekend, he does have cousins in the national frame.

"In Samoa everyone is related somewhere along the line," he said. "I did have a couple of cousins playing for Samoa in the earlier Pacific Cup games, but they're not playing this week."

The Reds flyer knows exactly what to expect from the Samoan backline this weekend, and he is banking on his fancy footwork to outfox the hard-hitting Islanders.

He said: "They are really physical, and you just don't want to run straight at them. You really need good footwork to get past them, and so I hope I don't get any hospital passes."

Ioane has become as well known for his unique celebrations as he has for his try-scoring exploits and the question on everyone's mind is, will he have something special lined up for the Sydney crowd this weekend?

"It depends on the crowd," Ioane said. "At Suncorp it is something special, and when you have 50,000 there, the energy is amazing. So you have do to something special for the crowd."