Jerome Kaino denies intending to hurt Lions star Conor Murray during First Test

Jerome Kaino today denied he intended to hurt Conor Murray in an incident that has sparked a war of words between the Lions and All Blacks.

Murray went down in the 10th minute of the 30-15 First Test loss to New Zealand on Saturday, after Kaino came over the top of a breakdown and caught the scrum-half.

Lions boss Warren Gatland claimed Kaino intentionally targeted Murray’s standing leg and branded the action “dangerous” in a press briefing on Sunday.

All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen responded by calling up Radio Sport NZ to dismiss Gatland’s accusations as “desperate” while the New Zealand Herald today mocked up Gatland as a cartoon clown.

The man in the middle of the storm, Kaino, faced a hail of questions today. The back-row forward said: “It’s never our intent to injure someone outside the laws. We play hard and we play fair. But that incident was a one-off and it was never our intention to single anyone out. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone. I wasn’t cited so I don’t think I should have been.”

Gatland suggested Murray was jostled all game long but that challenges like this can ruin players’ careers. This has sparked discussions of intent — about whether Kaino was attempting to block a kick or tackle Murray. Kaino said: “I didn’t go into tackle him. I rolled into his leg.

“If you can disrupt [his swinging foot], it’s like an ankle tap. My timing was off and I rolled into his planted foot and that’s what I believe happened.”

The two-time World Cup winner has also had his fair share of flack on social media. He said: “I’ve seen [the replay] reviewing the game and it’s popped up on my Twitter feed about a million times. It wasn’t my intention to go out there and target his planted foot.”