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Driven Kaino to repay the faith

Wednesday 02nd July 2008

Drive time: Kaino is driven to prove himself against South Africa

It has been a tough week off the field for Jerome Kaino, and it will get even tougher on the field when New Zealand play South Africa in the opening game of this season's Tri-Nations on Saturday.

Off the field Kaino faced drink-driving charges this week having allegedly failed a breath test last Friday, at which stage he doubted if he would even wear the All Black shirt again.

Add into the mix that Jimmy Cowan has faced charges over alcohol-related incidents this week and it is not ideal preparation for New Zealand, especially given that South Africa arrived in Wellington believing they can end a ten year drought on New Zealand soil.

Kaino, 25, spoke publicly about his personal problems for the first time and admitted it had been a rough week.

"Yeah it has. I've had some time to sit back and think about it. All I can do is focus on the Africans this week and we'll deal with the charge when I have my court hearing and I'm meeting with my employer (the NZRU) in a couple of weeks," he told RugbyHeaven.

Having just re-established himself in the All Black set-up with solid efforts against Ireland and England, Kaino thought he'd blown his career by making a wrong choice behind the wheel of a car. He certainly didn't think he'd be fronting the world champions this weekend.

"I was worried about my place in the squad full stop," he stressed.

"There was a moment there when I sat back and I was just waiting for a phone call from Graham Henry saying not to bother turning up to camp."

Fronting family and friends and his All Blacks bosses had been a trying and embarrassing time for Kaino.

"They were quite disappointed. To see the look on Mum and Dad's face, turning up at home wasn't the best feeling. After the initial shock they were quite supportive and it's about making sure this is the last time that something like this happens," he stressed.

If his parents were understanding then the All Black management were certainly more forthright with him when he had a meeting with his bosses.

"They weren't too happy - there were a lot of bullets being thrown. They were like my parents; they were disappointed and had some hard words to say. But after that they said 'in order for you to move on, you've got to keep your head up and focus on the Africans'," he added.

This misdemeanour is out of character for Kaino, a softly spoken church-going Aucklander. It's what has made him even more determined to prove his value against the Springboks.

"I'm not normally like this. I'm not a big drinker or anything. It's just the choices that I've made and I've paid for them," he said.

"I'm grateful that I have got a chance to start against the South Africans. All I can do is try to focus on this weekend and play well for them (his coaches) and play well for the rugby community that I've let down.

"As All Blacks we model ourselves being the best on and off the field. I thought about that - I thought I did jeopardise my chances of being in that jersey. Now I have to let my actions speak louder than my words.

Kaino said the management had worked hard to try to keep the players focused despite everything that was swirling around the team in the capital over the past few days, including Cowan's own incident.

"It's been more of a distraction for the coaches, our management and our leadership team. I've been trying to stay out of Jimmy's business and focus on what I can do to get past my own problems," Kaino said.

"It's been a tough week, especially with the off-field stuff and also having to start against the world champions - it's a big challenge and I'm looking forward to it."

With Richie McCaw out injured for the opening four games of the tournament Kaino is focusing on packing down in a new-look back row.

"I think it has been good for us in some ways not having Richie there. We are going to miss him but it has made a lot of guys stronger," Kaino explained.

"A lot of the younger players have had to step up and take a leadership role and do things they don't normally do.

"A lot of people say when you chuck on the All Blacks jersey you grow another foot so we are going to put that to the test. I'm sure we are up for the challenge."

It will be Kaino's first Tri-Nations Test but as a seasoned Super 14 campaigner with the Blues, he's no stranger to the South African ways.

"There's nothing unfamiliar to us. We are a lot smaller than them but a lot of the time we dominate them. I can't wait for that challenge," he added.

"From what I hear they are quite confident, so we look forward to testing them physically and taking them on."