Kaino inspired by new talent
The All Blacks will do battle with Wales in a three-Test series in June and Hansen has brought in a few new faces for the international window, particularly in the back row.
Elliot Dixon and Liam Squire have both impressed for the Highlanders over the past two seasons, while Ardie Savea has been in devastating form for the Hurricanes in this year's Super Rugby campaign.
The trio could earn their first caps during the series, but will have to compete with Kaino, Sam Cane and Kieran Read.
Despite the competition for places, Kaino said he is learning a lot from his new teammates.
"I use their enthusiasm and a lot of the things they bring to the table as motivation," he told stuff.co.nz. "The skillsets they bring, I don't have them, and at training I try to add them to my arsenal.
"They're fresh, energetic little fellas and you try to feed off that and add it to your daily All Black life. It can only be a positive.
"The exciting part is bringing those players in and seeing the final product we can have here with the All Blacks. We want to go up on the scale from where we were last year, and the challenge for us is try and improve on how we played and the pace and physicality of our game."
Despite being 33 now, Kaino believes he still has a lot to offer the All Blacks and still show the youngsters a thing a two when it comes to the game of rugby.
"I've got a few tricks of the trade," adds Kaino with a grin. "They love playing out wide, they have a lot of speed. I used to have that, but don't any more. It's just an ongoing improvement process."
The New Zealand squad, compared to seasons past, has had an additional week of training this year before their first Test and Kaino is hoping that it will help shake off some rustiness, which has plagued the team in the past.
"Next week is test week, the intensity will ramp up, and hopefully the learnings this week will allow us to hit the ground running … the first Test you're always going to get a few mistakes and a few areas you can improve on, but this week is about making those as few as possible," he added.
Source: stuff.co.nz
