"It's the first time I've ever experienced something like this," Kaino said. "I'll hope for the best when the x-rays come through."
Those were the Blues' two major casualties during their mixed 41-24 victory over the Force on Saturday, but there are others. Keven Mealamu was the only Blues' player to leave the field for a tactical substitution - all the others, including first-five Dan Bowden, had something wrong with them. A busy night for the team's medics is likely to continue this week ahead of their match against the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday.
There was much to like about the Blues' victory after a turgid opening 20 minutes, but the 40 points they put on the Western Australia visitors, the worst team in the competition, was probably a par score. The 24 they let in - four tries, and two in the final 10 minutes - would have disappointed Kirwan.
A change he should make is replacing veteran halfback Jimmy Cowan with Jamison Gibson-Park. Cowan did well to put wing Melani Nanai over for the first try, but too often his laboured delivery put Bowden and the rest of his backs under pressure.
A big positive was the performance of 19-year-old flanker Akira Ioane - his try from halfway was brilliant in its execution and audacity.
Iaone, understandably, is a target for the New Zealand Under-20s which means he will probably miss the Blues' final few games of the season but in the meantime Blues supporters have something at least to be optimistic about.
He is also bringing out the best in Steven Luatua, who will likely slot into Kaino's No8 position against the Rebels.
Kirwan said afterwards: "Pretty special, eh? I thought he stepped up again tonight. We wanted to get him in the game early ... we're giving him licence like he does in the sevens. We're keeping him out a bit wider so he can create mismatches. He's excelling at it. But I liked what he was doing in the tight; working hard, making tackles, just being physical.
"He's got a good teacher, too. Jerome [Kaino] has really taken him under his wing and raised the expectations around him."
Asked about Ioane's pace, Kaino said: "I think he's a little bit quicker than what I was. What we've been driving into the young guys is just go out there and express yourselves. We don't really want the results of the season to burden them."NZME.