Kaino's momentum continues into 2012

New Zealand Player of the Year Jerome Kaino has shrugged off any hint of post World Cup exhaustion – being the one consistent in the All Blacks 2011 back row – and has stepped into the Investec Super Rugby season without skipping a beat.

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The International Rugby Board Player of the Year nominee finished last season as arguably the best player of the World Cup winning squad, and an off season and marriage to his wife didn’t stop the blindside from turning up to Blues training earlier than required.

He suited up for the Blues first match against the Hurricanes, with match readiness far beyond most All Blacks, and showed he was ready for the season with a pummelling try off a well worked rolling maul six minutes into the match against the men from the capital.

Kaino wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Keven Mealamu, and as he did for the All Blacks last year, led the defensive effort in the tight exchanges to halt the Hurricanes attack in their tracks.

The usual number six played at eight, but it didn’t diminish his impact or work rate around the field.

He told Radiosport that he wanted to improve on a season where the All Blacks won the World Cup and he claimed the gong for the country’s best player.

“I'm still looking back at what happened in 2011 and that was a huge year," he said.

"Looking forward to this season, it's going to be tough to replicate it. That's the whole part of sport, challenge yourself to try and get better and I think that's the goal this year.

Kaino said his efforts were rewarded because of the team work and the ability to free up players to operate their natural game.

"People put a lot of focus on individual performances and I think as a collective our whole All Blacks squad and the Blues squad played well last year and that just allowed me to play my game,” he said.

“If both teams do the same this year, we'll get better performances as individuals."