Series decider like RWC final – Kaino

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Jerome Kaino evades the tackle of Tadhg Furlong

Flank Jerome Kaino has likened Saturday’s third Test between the All Blacks and the British & Irish Lions to that of a World Cup final.

The All Blacks comprehensively won the first Test 30-15, before the Lions clinched a pulsating 24-21 win in the second to send the series to a decider.

Kaino, who was in New Zealand’s starting lineup in the 2011 and 2015 World Cup finals, says the excitement in the All Blacks camp is building.

‘With it being 1-1, it does have the feeling of a World Cup final, so I am getting excited about the prospect of being able to play. It definitely has that feel. I think the excitement we had at training today backs that up,’ explained Kaino.

‘There has been a bit of an edge in training, but the guys are excited. We have to impose ourselves physically like the Lions did. We know the areas we need to improve on, and we know if we do that then we will get the result we want.’

The 34-year-old admitted that discipline will be key for both teams at Eden Park.

‘Discipline is a huge part of the game. As you saw last week weekend, both teams were quite keen to get amongst it.

‘We know a lot of things are spoken about in the week, but it’s not a reason for us to hold back. We are not going to go in there and be cautious about anything. We can play physically within the law. We will let the referee interpret things how he sees them and do our job.’

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