Cusiter travelled to Australia for the last tour as a spectator with club team Watsonians and was stunned by the level of publicity the team received.
The 22-year-old, capped 16 times for Scotland, has enjoyed a meteoric rise since turning professional nearly two years ago and he now has his sights firmly set on playing in the three Tests against the All Blacks.
He said: "I'm really excited about going on tour and going to play over there. I was over in Australia in 2001 watching it and to be going on the tour four years later is just remarkable for me.
"I think it will be fairly different being in the squad to being a spectator on tour. What I did realise, though, was the magnitude of it.
"There has been so much hype about this tour for over a year and everyone I have spoken to has said they are going over there to watch us.
"I would like to think that if I can play well, I'll give myself a chance of getting into the Test squad."
Cusiter admits he faces a tough task trying to pin down a berth for the three Test matches, being the least experienced of those vying for the scrum-half position - with Matt Dawson, Dwayne Peel and Gareth Cooper also in contention.
He added: "I am obviously the youngest and the least experienced so I think I've got my work cut out.
"Hopefully I can get the best out of myself playing with world-class players.
"I think I probably played the best rugby of my career so far against France in the Six Nations.
"I just want to keep reproducing that and play as well as I can, that's all I can expect of myself.
"I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to play out there with these guys."







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