'This guy is intimidating': Kieran Read reveals his toughest opponent

As he prepares for life away from the All Blacks, departing New Zealand skipper Kieran Read has opened up about the opponents he found the toughest to face throughout his career.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB while promoting his his new biography 'Straight 8', Read named two former teammates who he labelled as "intimidating" to play against in his early years as a professional rugby player.

"Probably not too many internationally actually," he said when asked about his toughest international opponents.

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"Certainly when you come up against Jerome Kaino and Jerry Collins when I first came along, that was someone where I was like 'man this guy is intimidating'. Those two probably [are the toughest]."

The 34-year-old also showed some of his personality in the wide-ranging interview as he revealed his love for golf and music, two hobbies he'll look to indulge in before moving to Japan to join Top League club Toyota Verblitz.

"I enjoy golf but I haven't been able to play it to be honest for the last few years with my injuries … I'm up and down as everyone is. I'm looking forward to getting into that again.

"Also I love music actually. It's probably the thing I escape with.

"Probably [my favourite] band is The Killers. But I love The Beatles. Tom Petty I absolutely love as well."

Read also dropped a hint as to what the future holds for him once his playing days are over.

"I'm unsure exactly," he said of his post-rugby ambitions.

"But I do enjoy sport. I studied towards that and leadership as well. Wellbeing is what I'm interested in. So not necessarily something in sport but something around leadership would be ideal for me. I'm exploring a few different options in that area."

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