The chosen one

FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE ALL BLACKS HAVE BEEN HOPING TO DISCOVER THE NATURAL SUCCESSOR TO JEROME KAINO AT BLINDSIDE. THEY THINK THEY MAY HAVE FOUND THEIR MAN.

There hasn’t been a formal audition process as such, but the All Blacks’ selectors have been looking, since 2012, for an understudy to Jerome Kaino.

It wasn’t a project they viewed as particularly urgent. Time, if not circumstance, was on their side when they began casting their net.

Kaino became the All Blacks’ first choice blindside in 2008. That was the year that he finally began to settle into some kind of consistency and fulfil potential that was ear-marked as early as 2004, when the All Blacks had taken him to Europe as an apprentice before he had even played Super Rugby.

He was in his early-to-mid 20s when he locked in the All Blacks jersey and the coaches could see, or at least they hoped, that they had a No 6 they wanted for the best part of the next decade.

That’s why when Kaino announced in early 2012 that he was going to play in Japan for two years, the All Blacks didn’t feel they needed to scurry around, panicking wildly about their options at No 6.

They saw Kaino’s venture more as a career break – a chance for him to rehabilitate a body that had been hammered and especially his shoulders, which had been through surgical trauma. They didn’t know he’d be back, but they were always confident he would be.

In the interim there were a number of alternate options to take a look at. There was Adam Thomson, the experienced Highlander who had come into the All Blacks at the same time as Kaino.

There was the emerging Victor Vito, a relative youngster who’d had a taste of the big time without quite showing he was ready for it, but an intriguing prospect nonetheless.

More on the fringes, but still in the frame, was Liam Messam. A contemporary and good friend of Kaino’s, but another who’d never quite progressed quite the way the coaches had wanted.

Further down the pipeline were Steven Luatua and Brad Shields, two big blindsides who’d been involved with the New Zealand Under 20 side that had won the Junior World Championship in 2011.

While it wasn’t clear quite who would emerge from that group to establish themselves in Kaino’s temporary absence, the selectors were content they had multiple options to explore.

They had seen over the course of history, how someone always managed to emerge when an opportunity presented itself. And they were right.

It was, perhaps against the odds, Messam who came good in 2012 and when he battled with injury in 2013, Luatua was the man who stepped up.

The All Blacks only lost one game in those two years and the fort was held super tight until Kaino returned in 2014, when he quickly took back his No 6 jersey and established all over again just how good he is.

Even though Messam and Luatua had played well in 2012 and 2013, Kaino took the All Blacks to another level again when he returned.

He was as good at the 2015 World Cup as he was in 2011 and last year, despite turning 33, he played with an incredible dynamism and energy which allowed him to get that bit wider and be more of a ball player.

The thing is, though, the end is in sight for Kaino. No one knows how long he can keep punishing his body the way he does.

Maybe he can go on to next World Cup. Maybe he’ll make it to the end of his contract next year and say that’s enough. He could, just as easily, find he doesn’t have enough left in his tank to be holding his test place at the end of this year.

His prospective longevity is entirely guesswork, although he said recently that he suspects the end may be sooner rather than later. “With where I am in my career, I cherish every moment I get in a starting position or even in the 23, whether it’s the All Blacks or at the Blues,” Kaino told the

Herald. “When you know your days are numbered you want to make the most of every opportunity you can get.

“On the flip side it changes your mentality about what you want to do in the environments you’re in; grooming the guys who are the next generation, who will be carrying the torch for a number of years going ahead.”

So now there is an element of urgency in the quest to find his successor. Kaino could push on for longer than he imagines. He could stay at the top of his game and earn his test spot for plenty of time yet, but the All Blacks have to be prepared for the worst.

They can’t risk being caught without a ready-made replacement and they believe that they have already found their man. And it is Liam Squire.