All Blacks: Jerome Kaino's painful night

Jerome Kaino and Sam Cane of the New Zealand All Blacks walk out for the second half during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool C match between New Zealand and Namibia. Photo / Getty Images.

Jerome Kaino's face told the story of the night for the All Blacks - disappointed and with a large lump over his right eye which testified to the physical nature of the Namibians.

"They just flew into everything," the big blindside flanker said. "The breakdowns were quite tough, but it was what we needed."

Kaino was a late inclusion for the All Blacks after Liam Messam was ruled out with a calf strain. Kaino had originally been unavailable due to a tight hamstring, but always knew he was okay to play if needed.

"I was fine. I just said to the medical staff that I was a little big tight after the Argentina game. They were a little cautious about it but I felt good to play."

Radio Sport: Tournament headlines

Apart from their handling errors, chief among the All Blacks' worries will be how Namibia were so competitive in the lineout. The stole a couple, including one in the first half five metres from their own line when they should have been put under a lot of pressure by the All Blacks. Instead, they easily defused it. Their only try came from a lineout win and brilliant switch move for Johan Deysel to go over.

"We tried to back ourselves going simple, but they did their homework and were able to steal a few," Kaino said. "We were able to change things up and just go to the front where I was where I was open.

Asked if it was hard to maintain standards against a team ranked 20 places lower than the defending champions, Kaino said: "It's not hard to maintain standards because we know every team that comes up against the All Blacks are going to lift... we don't see them as B-grade teams or second tier teams, we see them as World Cup games and anyone who we come up against is going to be fired up."