NSW prop Jeremy Tilse would blush at the thought as he knows he still has to prove himself. But, as he adapts to the third positional change in his short career, the "next Carl Hayman" tag has already been prepared for him.

The Waratahs and Australian Rugby Union see similarities between Tilse and Hayman, a 45-cap All Black who is feted as perhaps the best tight-head prop in world rugby and who now plays with English club Newcastle Falcons.

If anything, the similarities are more striking as Tilse, 21, previously a loose-head prop, returned from a one-month sabbatical at another English club, Bath, for a masterclass in the more technical trade of the tight-head prop.

Tilse was not the only Australian Super 14 young gun to make the trip last month - Brumbies prop Salesi Ma'afu also headed to the cold and wet of a northern hemisphere winter to develop his upfront finesse with Leicester.

This initiative by the ARU in conjunction with NSW Rugby and ACT Rugby and the English clubs aims to develop the skills of Australia's up-and-coming props and to improve their adaptability to the English style of game.

"He has Carl Hayman-type proportions," said NSW coach Ewen McKenzie. "He is quite tall, which probably makes it harder on the [opposing] loose-head."

Tilse weighs 117 kilograms and is 194 centimetres tall against Hayman's 120kg and 193cm.

Wallabies forwards coach Michael Foley agrees, saying Tilse is "a guy built in the Carl Hayman frame".

But McKenzie and Foley say Tilse, a loose-head prop at St Joseph's College before switching to the second-row, then back to loose-head, must "muscle up and thicken up" if his move to tight-head is to be successful.

So does Tilse. But he is confident the lessons from England, despite playing only one 40-minute spell off the bench for the Bath's lower division side, Bath United, should pave the way for him to threaten for more Super 14 time.

Certainly more than his "two minutes" last year against the Cheetahs at Kimberley, South Africa in round three.

"I loved it. The standard was great and scrums were full-on," said Tilse, who will not only face Wallaby Al Baxter in the tight-head selection battle but also 125kg Sekope Kepu, who has joined NSW from the Chiefs' training squad. There are more scrums and more opportunities to do more scrum sessions there.

"The set piece focus is much bigger there. Whereas, focus on it back here in pre-season is not so much. I think I have improved."

So does his NSW coach, McKenzie, who has already seen the development he has made in technique and attitude.

"It was a great and very profitable period of time - I am interested to see how that transfers into a playing sense," said McKenzie, who will likely run Tilse in NSW's first trial against the Reds at Campbelltown on January 26.

"Regardless, he will keep pushing [for selection] because he is a good athlete, understands the game and has all the attitudinal points.

"That transition will happen. It is just a question of when."