All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino to quit New Zealand rugby
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino has confirmed he will quit New Zealand rugby to play in France at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
The 34-year-old veteran of 81 tests has yet to say which club he will join.
Kaino won World Cups with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015, winning back his blindside starting role after playing in Japan for two years after the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
Injuries have recently limited his appearances and, while he played in all three tests against the British and Irish Lions last season, he made only five test appearances in all of 2017.
New Zealand rugby chief executive Steve Tew said Kaino "helped set the benchmark for modern loose forward play with his dominant performances over the years."