WALES international Hallam Amos has pledged to learn from the best in the business as he prepares to make his first Newport Gwent Dragons appearance of the season after tussling with the All Blacks.

The 21-year-old from Cross Ash will start at full-back against Zebre at Rodney Parade on Friday evening (kick-off 7.15pm) in his first appearance since the summer tour to New Zealand.

Amos started on the wing in all three Tests against the All Blacks and locked horns with World Cup winners Ben Smith and Waisake Naholo.

The Dragons prospect endured some tough times in defence but has vowed to learn from the experience – and copy the greats.

He said: “The New Zealand back three is one of the best ever and they have four players (Smith, Naholo, Julian Savea and Israel Dagg) who are absolutely world class.

“It was great lining up against them and I am going to try and emulate them over the next few years. At 21 I have time on my side and to get a run of games with Italy, England and then three Tests has been brilliant for me.

“I’ve really enjoyed it and it was a big learning curve out there for myself. Everything is amplified against the All Blacks.

“There are always work-ons with Shaun (Edwards, defence coach) and he is on my back a lot, which is good because that means you are always pushing yourself.”

Wales endured a summer whitewash after losing to England and the Chiefs as well as the three Tests against the All Blacks.

However, Amos believes the way that they pushed the best team on the planet – leading with an hour gone at Eden Park and going into half-time level in Wellington – shows there is reason to be optimistic ahead of autumn encounters with Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Japan.

“It was a great experience and it’s not often you get to play the double world champions in their own back yard,” he said.

“In the first two Tests, for 60 to 70 minutes we put in a good shift and we’ve seen what they have done to Australia in the last few weeks. Australia offered less than we did.”

With Leigh Halfpenny and Alex Cuthbert back from injury after missing the summer tour, Amos is likely to be pushed out of the XV for the Wallabies opener.

However, with the Dragons promising to play a more expansive game in the Guinness Pro12 this season, the wing/full-back and fellow international hopeful Tyler Morgan should be able to make an impression on caretaker Wales boss Rob Howley.

“Fair play to the coaches, they have looked at how Connacht won the league with a high number of passes,” said Amos.

“It’s high risk in some respects but then it’s very high reward. As outside backs, the more times we get our hands on the ball the happier we will be.

“The classic phrase is about earning the right to go wide and that’s as true now as it ever has been.

“It’s all in moderation. We are talking about a wide, expansive game but if the weather or game situation dictates that we can’t then we are sensible and can rein it in.”