British and Irish Lions 2017: All Blacks captain Kieran Read reveals chance to face tourists kept him in New Zealand

The No 8 stressed that he should be good for the first Test at Eden Park on 24 June as he continues his recovery from a broken thumb

Kieran Read is excited about the opportunity to face the Lions (Getty)

All Blacks captain Kieran Read is winning his race to be fit for the first Test against the British and Irish Lions, and revealed ahead of their warm-up match against the Crusaders this week that it was the chance to face the touring side that kept him in New Zealand.

“One of the things that kept me here in New Zealand and that I wanted to hang around for was the Lions,” the 31-year-old said. “I can’t wait for the series to kick off. I certainly want to be out there on the field. I’d have loved to be out there this Saturday, but I’ll bide my time.”

Read is recovering from a broken thumb that he suffered while playing for the Crusaders at the end of April, and confirmed that he will not be available for the All Blacks’ one and only warm-up match against Samoa next Friday.

The No 8 stressed that he should be good for the first Test at Eden Park on 24 June, and after meeting with a specialist today, should be given the green light to remove the cast he has worn for the last six weeks and return to full training.

“I’ve just got to get it signed off by the specialist and then build back in to using the thumb again,” Read added. Asked how his general fitness levels are, the All Blacks skipper responded enthusiastically. “Actually bloody good. The other thing about not playing footie is you are fresh, I’ve been able to train fully. It’s just now getting the green light with the thumb, the bone, you can’t really muck around with it if it’s not right.”

Read is evidently excited by the prospect of taking the best that England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales have to offer, having missed the 2005 series 12 years ago as he had not yet graduated from the Under-21 side to the senior squad.

The chance to face the Lions is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most players (Getty)

“The cool thing is the Lions are big here,” he added. “It’s a traditional team. It has a lot of respect from New Zealanders. It gets the best out of us in terms of the Super teams and the All Blacks. For me, it’s a great series – I can’t wait for it.”

But he will not have to be at his very best if the Lions do not improve their level of performance. Their tour-opening encounter was a nervy 13-7 victory over the Provincial Barbarians – though that misfiring display was largely down to the jetlag incurred from the two-day flight just 72 hours prior – while a much-improved display against the Blues still ended in a 22-16 defeat.

Both Warren Gatland and George North have stressed though that the Lions will get better the longer they’ve had to work together and understand the combination that work, with two weeks and four matches still to play before the Lions and All Blacks face off. Read is in agreement, and while he has not been impressed with their displays just yet, he expects to face a much harder challenge.

“They’ve been certainly a bit rusty,” he noted. “But the way they’ve shown their intent is probably what they are going to bring to the Test matches. They defend strongly, their breakdown work is pretty impressive and the set piece – the things that generally decide Test matches. So we have to be pretty strong because that’s an area they’ll come at us with.

“The Lions have got a new team again but they are getting better each game. But we’ve [Crusaders] had a pretty good season, the guys are pretty excited by the challenge. The chance to play the Lions, it’s a massive game for everyone in New Zealand.

“It’s going to get the best out of the guys, something to really look forward to. That’s the mindset of us – we won’t hold much back. But in context – for the Lions, it’s them building for the first Test. And that’s a totally different ball game.”