All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino has been tipped to sign with French club Toulon in the next two days after the departure of Duane Vermeulen.; Rugby Stuff

All Blacks flanker Jerome Kaino has been tipped to sign with French club Toulon in the next two days after the departure of Duane Vermeulen.

French media reports in December linked Kaino with Toulon as a replacement for Vermeulen, who will return to the Stormers for Super Rugby when Toulon's season ends.

Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal on Wednesday (Thursday NZ time) confirmed the 39-test Springbok was heading back to South Africa.

"Vermeulen is leaving, he will be replaced by an international level player that we will announce in the next 48 hours," Boudjellal said.

"Duane is leaving because he wants to prepare for the World Cup [in Japan in 2019] - we had offered him a contract that corresponded to the amount of time he works."

Kaino's contract with New Zealand Rugby runs through to the end of 2018.

The 34-year-old 81-test veteran lost his starting place in the All Blacks No 6 jersey after withdrawing from the squad in August for personal reasons ahead of last year's opening Bledisloe Cup test against Australia in Sydney.

Liam Squire and Vaea Fifita have moved up in the pecking order ahead of Kaino, who did start all three tests in the drawn series against the British and Irish Lions in 2017.

Kaino played for Auckland for the first time since 2010 during last season's Mitre 10 Cup.

The two-time World Cup winner was forced to head home last November from the All Blacks' end-of-year tour because of a posterior cruciate ligament injury suffered playing against the Barbarians at Twickenham.

 - Stuff

What a sad way to end a fantastic international career as an All Black.He had a personal issue and had to leave a tour to go home and settle things with his wife and that gave a couple of other players a shot and that's all it took for Kaino to slip down to third in the pecking order. Admittedly he was getting up in age & it would have been tough to make it till then but he had some miles left on him and two RWCs behind him.

Best of luck mate! Thanks for your tough no hold barred style of play.

JW

This guy showed a lot of signs over the past two years that he is over the hill as international player  and his departure from NZ is not a shock to me/

Toulon did not have a sterling record this year in the French Top 14 so he is joining a club that needs upliftment - badly - Vermeulen did not perform really well for the club and Kaino may add value in that context.

Hope he does well in his new work environment.    

How about some sympathy for Toulon - loosing the great Vermeulen and getting wee canned ou as a replacement. V ery poor deal!

SB

And his disciplinary record look ed somewhat sick to me

Seems as if it's Messam and not Kain Toulon have signed.

Messam would be a better signing - but he is also getting on in years and not really in the AB squad as first selection in future, ,   

The info I have is that it's Messam and not Kaino replacing Vermeulen.

Maybe they need both to fill the gap Vermeulen's left ...

They also have that Argentine loosie whom I believe will retire the end if this season.   Maybe they need both Kaino and Messam.   

At first I thought you meant Facunda Isa was retiring then I remembered ol Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe.

I was all like "but He's only in his twenties".

Lobbe was the one I reads about somewhere.