Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw and Ma'a Nonu in the voting. He is a key member of

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

and

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Rugby World Cup winning teams, becoming one of only 20 players to have won multiple Rugby World Cups. Having played 137 games with the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

, he is a

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

. Kaino is considered by many to be one of the game's greats. He is the second

U.S. national Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

of Samoan descent to play for the All Blacks. The first was

Frank Solomon Frank Solomon (30 May 1906 – 21 December 1991) was an American-born New Zealand Rugby Union player. He has played national provincial rugby for Auckland and international rugby for the All Blacks. Considered a pacific pioneer in New Zealand ru ...

in 1931.

Early life

Kaino was born on 6 April 1983 at

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

Medical Center in Faga'alu, located in the U.S. territory of

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

as the third of six children. In 1987 at the age of 4, he and his family relocated from their home village of Leone, Tutuila, to Papakura, Auckland. After settling in Papakura, he played junior

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for the Papakura Sea Eagles before switching to

in secondary school at

Papakura High School Papakura High School (PHS) is a co-educational state secondary school based in the Auckland suburb of Papakura in New Zealand, catering for students from Year 9 to Year 13. The school was established in 1954 and is now made up of a diverse stud ...

and

Saint Kentigern College Saint Kentigern College is a private co-educational Presbyterian secondary school in the suburb of Pakuranga on the eastern side of Auckland, New Zealand, beside the Tamaki Estuary. It is operated by the Saint Kentigern Trust Board which also ...

where he was offered a rugby scholarship. He attended both schools with former All Black

John Afoa Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa (born 16 September 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. His position of choice is at prop. Afoa currently plays for Crusaders in Super Rugby. Personal life Afoa was a student at Auckland's Papakura Hig ...

. If Kaino had not come to New Zealand following the lead of his uncle, his relatives assumed that he would have enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Auckland and Blues career

Kaino made his

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

debut in 2004 and his

debut in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. Prior to being signed for the Blues, Kaino came off the bench in Auckland's 13-17 loss to the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

on 5 July 2005. In 2012 it was announced that Kaino would be leaving the Blues for Japanese club Toyota Verblitz on a two-year deal, following the conclusion of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. On 4 October 2013, Kaino announced he had re-signed with New Zealand Rugby Union, North Harbour and Auckland Blues on a two-year contract. He was expected to return to New Zealand in February in time for the beginning of the

2014 Super Rugby season The 2014 Super Rugby season is the fourth season of the 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as Asteron Life Super Rugby ...

. Kaino made successful return to the Blues in the 2014 season, being named as the team's captain for the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

, taking over from fellow back-rower

Luke Braid Luke Gary Braid (born 5 October 1988) is a rugby union footballer who plays for the Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland in the ITM Cup. He plays as a loose forward. Braid has also played for three national rugby union teams, the New Zealand Schoo ...

. Kaino played his 100th match for the Blues on 28 February 2015, but the Blues unfortunately lost 24-25 to the Cheetahs that day. Kaino's captaincy at the Blues did not last long, with hooker James Parsons taking over during the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. On 8 September 2017, Kaino played for Auckland for the first time since 2010. Kaino started at number 8 as Auckland lost 38-49 to Taranaki.

Toulouse

On 17 February 2018, rumours were released that Kaino would potentially move to France at the conclusion of the

2018 Super Rugby season The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participate ...

. A week later, Kaino confirmed he would leave New Zealand.

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Tou ...

, based in Toulouse, France subsequently announced that Kaino would join their team, containing Kaino's former All Blacks and Blues teammate

Charlie Faumuina Charles Faumuina (born 24 December 1986) is a rugby union player who plays prop, for in Top 14 in France and formerly for internationally. He was a key member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup winning team. He currently plays international rugby ...

. He won

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, as

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

being one of the cornerstones of the French team. In June 2021, Kaino retired and stayed in France, becoming Toulouse skills coach and academy assistant coach.

International career

Early career

Despite being without a Super Rugby contract for the

2005 Super 12 season The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, ...

, Kaino was called into the All Blacks on 2004's end-of-season tour. Kaino made his All Blacks debut on 4 December 2004 when he started at blindside flanker against the Barbarians in an uncapped fixture at Twickenham Stadium in London. Kaino played the full 80 minutes and scored a try on debut, with the All Blacks winning 47-19. Kaino played his first two tests against Ireland in 2006. He did not play for New Zealand again until 2008, missing the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

due to injury. In 2008, Kaino, who earned many comparisons with

Jerry Collins Jerry Collins (4 November 1980 – 5 June 2015) was a Samoan – New Zealand rugby union player. He played for New Zealand, for whom he was capped 48 times, as well as for the Wellington Hurricanes in New Zealand, Toulon and Narbonne in the Rugb ...

for his uncompromising physical style, would become a key member of the All Blacks setup. Kaino's return from injury saw him become the national side's first-choice blindside flanker. In 2011, Kaino played an important role in the All Blacks winning the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

. He was named in the starting XV for every game. He played every minute of every game except for the final few seconds in the

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. He scored four tries in the World Cup.

2014-2015

Kaino returned to the All Blacks from his stint in Japan and during the 2014 three-test series against England, temporarily replaced incumbent number eight Kieran Read, who was being forced to sit out after suffering a relapse of concussion symptoms. Kaino started at number 8 for the first two tests of the series, the second of which on 14 July 2014, was his 50th test for the All Blacks. Kaino celebrated his milestone with a narrow 28-27 victory for the All Blacks. Kaino returned to blindside flanker in the third test if the series following Read's recovery, pushing Liam Messam out of his starting place. Kaino finished off his 2014 season in which he made eight appearances for the All Blacks by scoring his only try of the year, allowing the All Blacks to comfortably beat Wales 34-16 on 22 November 2014. Kaino was selected for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was on ...

as part of New Zealand's 31-man All Blacks squad. Kaino achieved many career milestones in the competition, playing in all seven All Black tests in the competition. His most notable performances in the competition were in the quarter-final on 17 October 2015 where the All Blacks beat France 62-13 and in the semi-final's 20-18 win against South Africa on 24 October 2015. He scored tries in both of those knockout rounds, but was also yellow-carded for being offside against South Africa in the 39th minute of the semi-final. Kaino, alongside teammates Sam Whitelock and

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in ...

played in their record 14th consecutive World Cup wins when New Zealand beat Australia 34-17 on 31 October 2015, to win their third Rugby World Cup. Kaino was replaced by Hurricanes forward Victor Vito with nine minutes left of the World Cup final.

2016-2018

Kaino struggled with injury throughout 2016, but still managed to play for New Zealand in 12 All Blacks tests. Kaino scored his final international try for New Zealand on 20 August 2016 as the All Blacks beat the Wallabies by 42-8. This season most notably included the 40-29 defeat to Ireland in Chicago where Kaino was featured out of position as lock, due to injury previously received by

Brodie Retallick Brodie Allan Retallick (born 31 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who plays as a lock for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and is part of the squad for New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. Retallic ...

and Sam Whitelock against Australia. Kaino struggled to perform well in the unfamiliar role against Ireland and was replaced by test debutant Scott Barrett in the 45th minute. Kaino recovered from a knee injury to be selected as a member of the All Blacks' 33-man squad for the 2017 Pasifika Challenge and three-test series against the touring

team. Becoming one of few players to play against the Lions in multiple tours, Kaino took part in the first test of the 2017 series on 24 June 2017 by starting at blindside flanker for his home crowd at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount E ...

. Kaino was subbed off in the 45th minute, being replaced by

Ardie Savea Ardie Suemalo Savea (born 14 October 1993) is a rugby union player who plays as a flanker or number 8 for in the ITM Cup, the Hurricanes in Super Rugby and international rugby for the New Zealand All Blacks. Savea was a member of New Zealand' ...

as the All Blacks went on to win 30-15. Kaino was unfortunately subbed off less than 30 minutes into the second test of the Lions series due to the red-carding of Blues teammate Sonny Bill Williams. Kaino was replaced by debutant Ngani Laumape so that the All Blacks were not a back short at set-piece. Kaino was also yellow-carded in the third test's 49th minute for a swinging forearm on Lions lock Alun Wyn Jones, who had to be replaced by

Courtney Lawes Courtney Linford Lawes is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a second or back row for Northampton Saints in the Gallagher Premiership. He has made over 250 appearances for his club. Early life and education Lawes was born ...

as he copped a blow from Kaino's arm. The series was disappointing for Kaino and for the All Blacks who allowed the Lions to break multiple records as the series was drawn 1-1. Following the drawn Lions series, Kaino was selected for the

2017 Rugby Championship The 2017 Rugby Championship was the sixth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The competition is operated by SANZAAR, a joint venture of the four co ...

but did not play in the competition due to personal reasons, making his first ITM Cup appearance for Auckland in 7 years. Kaino's absence from the Rugby Championship saw him lose his starting spot to

Liam Squire Liam Ivan John Squire (born 20 March 1991) is a former New Zealand rugby union player from Tokomaru, New Zealand. He played in the Number 8 and Blindside flanker position for Tasman in the Mitre 10 Cup. Squire joined the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurri ...

and Vaea Fifita who spent the 2017 putting forward cases to make the number 6 jersey theirs. Kaino started at number 8 in the All Blacks' 31-22 win over the Barbarians on the end-of-year tour but was subbed off with a posterior cruciate ligament injury in the 45th minute and replaced by Sam Cane. Kaino announced his signing to Toulouse in 2018, effectively retiring from international rugby.

Honours

Auckland

* NPC/Air New Zealand Cup: 2005, 2007 *

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challen ...

: 2007-08 (5)

Stade Toulousain

New Zealand

* Tri Nations/

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Career notes

* Started the first two matches of the Junior All Blacks tour to Australia in 2005 before returning to play for

against the

. * Scored a try in his

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

debut against the Barbarians at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boro ...

in December 2004. * Voted

IRB International U21 Player of the Year The IRB International U21 Player of the Year was awarded by the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) in the autumn each year from 2001 to 2006. In 2008, it was combined with the IRB International U19 Player of the Year to create the IRB Juni ...

in 2004 and was Player of the Tournament at the 2004 IRB Under 21 World Championship. * NZRU Age Grade Player of the Year 2004. * Scored his first world cup try at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

in the opening match against Tonga. He then went on to score three more tries bringing his tally to four. Currently he has scored the most tries of any forward. *Nominee for

IRB International Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The award is presented to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". Th ...

2011. Won by

Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed i ...

References

External links

Blues profile
*
Jerome Kaino BlogSamoan Bios: Jerome Kaino
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaino, Jerome 1983 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Auckland rugby union players Toyota Verblitz players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights World Rugby Awards winners People educated at Saint Kentigern College Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Living people People educated at Papakura High School New Zealand international rugby sevens players New Zealand male rugby sevens players