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Kaino expected to face Lions despite knee surgery
By Peter Thompson
Jerome Kaino will undergo knee surgery but the New Zealand flanker is expected to be fit to face the British and Irish Lions.
Blues will be without Kaino for up to six weeks after he suffered a slight meniscus tear in his knee during the 28-24 Super Rugby defeat to Hurricanes last weekend.
It is anticipated that the 34-year-old loose forward will be back to full fitness in time for the three-match series against the Lions, which starts at Eden Park on June 24.
Blues assistant coach Steve Jackson said: "He's got a lot of big things coming up towards June so now was the time to get it done.
"And again, he was feeling it and as I said before it was locking up on him so potentially he could have played with some discomfort then if it locked up during game time we would have to replace him anyway."
Jackson added: "He'll get his feet up and normally you come back quick from those sorts of operations. I'm pretty sure he'll be fine for the Lions tour."
Maori All Black loose forward Akira Ioane will replace Kaino in the Blues starting line-up when they take on Brumbies in Canberra on Sunday.
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Latest Comments
The New Zealand performance in the return fixture in 2016 was filthy. A lot of Irish supporters were pretty shocked by it, viewed it as de facto cheating just to avoid another defeat.
Also shocked by the abuse to Ireland, captain, vice-captain and spectators after the full time whistle in Paris defeat, last match.
Sledging is sledging, but that happens during the game and targetting spectators should be completely out of bounds.
The Irish public used to enjoy these matches, even in defeat. Now they are necessary but unpleasant, because NZ apparently cannot accept or respect successful challengers.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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