Rugby: Kaino set to put his hand up

Jerome Kaino is keen to lift his game for both the Blues and the national selectors. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The All Black selection congestion is most unmistakable at halfback and there is also a great logjam at looseforward.

The national panel is due to choose 26 players this month to battle it out with France and Italy in the June internationals, a squad which may be restricted to just five looseforwards.

Just five! You can already sense the discomfort from the contenders and the All Black selectors.

They took seven loosies on last year's final trip to Hong Kong and Britain - captain Richie McCaw, Scott Waldrom, Rodney So'oialo, Liam Messam, Adam Thomson, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read - and could also have used Ross Filipo as a blindsider.

That group did not include Sione Lauaki and Chris Masoe, who had also been sniffing around the squad during the season.

Even my flaky maths can work out that, unless injury intervenes, several of those loosies will not be back in black next month.

It could be more brutal if the national panel decides to include some new faces such as Tanerau Latimer, Alando Soakai or Victor Vito.

One man right in the mix is Kaino, a bit-part All Black who added 13 more internationals to his resume last season.

He has been struggling with a medial knee ligament problem this season and is the only Blues looseforward left from the original selection group.

"Oh, it's still not a hundred [per cent] but it is good enough to trot around," he said on the eve of the Blues match against the Brumbies in Canberra. "Hopefully it will come right at the end of Super 14.

"I'm doing my best to look after it, but it seems it is two steps forward and one back at this stage of the season."

Kaino agreed it had been a tough year for him and acknowledged that he had not produced the quality of performance to match his past two seasons. He could not pinpoint the reasons for that form fluctuation, although the Blues had rarely sent the same looseforward combination on to the field.

The last two pool games against the Brumbies and Crusaders were crucial for the Blues and their aspiring All Blacks to make strong statements.

"There is a lot of pressure to regain that All Black spot because there are a lot of looseforwards around the country who are playing well," Kaino said. "There is the cliche about 'play well for your franchise and the All Black jersey will look after itself'."

Kaino accepted he had performed consistently for the men in black last season, which would help at the selection table, but he felt frustrated in not being able to nail down that form again.

"The next two weeks we are all looking to play to a better standard and looking to put some respect back into that Blues jersey," Kaino said.

"We have had some knocks in results in the last couple of weeks and also some injuries, so senior people like myself have to help Kevvie [Mealamu] even more with the leadership and things. We all need to put our hands up."