Rugby: All Blacks face life without Kaino

Jerome Kaino. Photo / Natalie Slade

Nominations for All Black blindside flanker, please.

That search has risen to the top of the new All Black selectors' priority list after Jerome Kaino revealed he needed a shoulder operation and will be out of rugby for six months.

In recent times three players have been used in the No 6 jersey by the All Blacks and Adam Thomson, Victor Vito and Liam Messam will be in the frontline of thoughts about a test replacement.

All Black captain Richie McCaw might be another option. He has played his 103 tests on the openside, but there have been times at Super rugby and provincial level where he has switched to other loose forward roles.

He could move to blindside in his comeback with the Crusaders to allow a possible international combination with No 8 Kieran Read and opensider Matt Todd to advance even further. Todd was called up to help at several late World Cup training sessions when McCaw's foot injury continued to trouble him.

If the selectors decided on a positional switch for McCaw, then Luke Braid would probably challenge Todd for international promotion.

Meanwhile, Kaino will have surgery tomorrow to repair persistent problems with his left shoulder. He has been able to cope with the injury and his rugby workload by strengthening the area around his shoulder.

However, he aggravated the injury in round two against the Chiefs when he chipped a piece of bone from his shoulder joint and after consulting his surgeon, Kaino was told he needed surgery like the reconstruction he had on his right shoulder some years ago.

The 48-test Kaino will be out of rugby for six months but could return for parts of the provincial rugby series and perhaps end-of-year All Black duty. He has not given any more thoughts about his rugby future beyond then but could yet sign on again for more action in New Zealand.

"I'm gutted. I really didn't think this was going to take me out of the whole Blues season," Kaino said. "Usually when I have these sort of episodes the shoulder settles down and I can get into training. I thought when I got the scans there might be some good news, but it was a lot worse than I thought it was."

Kaino suffered the latest damage when he fell awkwardly on the slippery surface at Waikato Stadium.

"The surgeon seems to think the operation will be pretty straightforward, so I'm pretty positive with this one."

Blues coach Pat Lam said the news had come as a shock. Kaino was a huge part of the Blues leadership and playing core and his absence would be a huge personal and team blow.

Team doctor Stephen Kara explained that Kaino had partially dislocated his shoulder against the Chiefs but had continued to play. However the damage did not settle after the match and x-rays and MRI imaging revealed a piece of bone had been knocked off the shoulder joint.

The Blues used Chris Lowrey at No 8 against the Bulls last week and will have to persevere with him, Brad Mika or Peter Saili for the rest of this season.

Kaino's exit adds to a rising Blues injury list with Rudi Wulf out for several more weeks with shoulder problems, Isaia Toeava struggling with a hip injury and George Moala needing another few weeks to repair his shoulder damage.

Test prop Tony Woodcock is not due to return from his All Black break for another few weeks while inside back Michael Hobbs is on family leave.

The Blues backline defections expanded yesterday when Rene Ranger was banned for two weeks by Sanzar judicial officer Mike Heron after admitting a dangerous tackle charge against the Bulls on Sunday.