On reflecting on his selection yesterday, Kaino stated he had "some big shoes to fill", but there is no doubt he will want it to be more than a one-off.
"I've felt good playing Super 15 -- with the amount of game time I've been getting my confidence has been growing," he said. "International rugby is a different beast to Super 15 so I can take a bit of that confidence into Saturday night but the main focus for me is just to prepare well."
Hansen said of Kaino's timely return to play at Eden Park in an All Blacks jersey for the first time since the World Cup final: "I never wanted him to go in the first place; we had a bit of a discussion about that but he always said he was going to come back and he's come back at the right time which is great. I think he's like a caged animal, he's pretty keen to get out there."
Once Kaino had decided to return to New Zealand, he set about preparing himself mentally as a No8. With Steven Luatua in such good form for the Blues last year, Kaino believed that would be his best chance of cracking John Kirwan's starting line-up.
With Luatua struggling for form, Kaino has swapped between blindside flanker and No8. He doesn't have a lot of experience at the back of the scrum for the All Blacks, but reckoned he would get the best possible support from fellow loose forwards Richie McCaw and Liam Messam.
England are likely to take the direct approach, but Kaino has the strength and determination to turn that route into a cul de sac.
Hansen, however, thinks Stuart Lancaster's team will also look to test them in other areas.
"I imagine they'll look to drive us in the lineouts, they'll look to come up the middle of the park and use switches to try and see if we've got our short-side defence sorted out and maybe look to turn us around a bit too," he said.
"This England side can do some things better than we can and we need to make sure that we improve in those areas so we least get on similar ground to them."
