All Blacks coach Ian Foster has hailed TJ Perenara’s “massive character” and resilience in fighting back to make the team for final Test of the year against England at Twickenham.
Perenara will play his 80th Test on Sunday morning NZT after giving the selectors no choice but to pick him following his performance off the bench against Scotland at Murrayfield last weekend.
The 30-year-old showed levels of control and composure that Finlay Christie couldn’t in the comeback 31-23 victory and he has been rewarded with a place in the match-day 23 and probably a move up the halfback pecking order ahead of next year’s World Cup.
It came after Perenara failed to make the squad for the mid-year Irish series following his season in Japan, and, after he didn’t make the Rugby Championship squad or indeed the squad for their current northern tour, most were calling time on his All Blacks career.
“We’ve made him work a little bit,” was Foster’s succinct but understated summary of Perenara’s recent progress.
“It hasn’t been easy, but he’s shown massive character to deal with that. He’d already thrown himself into the NPC and really worked hard on aspects of his game and I thought in the game for the All Blacks XV against Ireland he looked really sharp and positive in everything he did.
“Again, against Scotland I thought he showed that composure and combativeness that we love about him so… we’ve rewarded that Scottish performance with this one. It probably wasn’t part of our plan a week ago but it is now.”
Perenara, along with Mark Telea on the right wing, is the big mover in this All Blacks team after their scrappy win over the Scots.
For Telea the honour of starting against England comes after his excellent two-try performance in Edinburgh.
The assumption at the start of the tour would have been for Christie to back up Smith and Sevu Reece to start on the right against New Zealand’s nemesis from the last World Cup but the pair made irresistible claims last weekend. There is no room for Reece in the match-day squad.
“We were really delighted with him last week; [with his] aerial [quality], workrate, and he took his opportunities with his tries,” Foster said of Telea, 25.
Asked whether the team was an easy one to select, Foster said it was in some respects – and there was an inevitability in Scott Barrett starting at blindside flanker and the Richie Mo’unga, Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane axis – but in other areas it required more challenging conversations.
“I reckon that’s a good thing because to me we are actually now growing depth in areas that is forcing those conversations to be had,” Foster said. “That’s been a clear strategy for us this year and I’m kind of delighted that it wasn’t the easiest squad for us to pick.”
There’s no surprise about the identity of the All Blacks’ No.4 - Brodie Retallick on the occasion of his 100th Test (he is the 12th All Black to reach the milestone). Retallick will partner Sam Whitelock in the second row in a Test for a world record 64th time.
“Eleven players have done it and I think I’ve been around for nine of them so I know how special it is for not only the player but the family,” Retallick said.
After serving his two-game red card suspension, Retallick is looking forward to locking horns with an England side that will include a 100th cap milestone for their skipper Owen Farrell.
Asked to reflect on a year which has included disappointments in the form of defeats and injury – Retallick broke his cheekbone during the final Test of the lost Irish series – he said: “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.
“You look back at June and where we were post the Irish series, it was somewhere we’d never been in my career in terms of how the team was going.
“It’s fair to say we’ve come out the other side of that and we’re building - we’re putting some performances together.
“We’re still looking for a little bit of consistency but it’s a perfect challenge to come up against a big England pack and a skilled team to see where we are really at in the last game of the year.”
It’s been a similarly rocky journey for Perenara, who, despite his All Blacks disappointments, performed well for the New Zealand Maori in July and won a championship with his Norths club and an NPC title and Ranfurly Shield with Wellington.
“It’s an environment you want to be a part of and when given the opportunity you want to make the most of it,” he said.
“It’s been a pretty cool journey this year. Obviously there have been some ups and downs but the journey itself has been something I’ve really enjoyed.”
All Blacks team vs England
Kick-off 6.30am on Sunday NZT at Twickenham
All Blacks: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Mark Telea, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 10. Richie Mo'unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Ardie Savea, 7. Dalton Papali'i, 6. Scott Barrett, 5. Sam Whitelock [c], 4. Brodie Retallick, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 2. Codie Taylor, 1. Ethan de Groot
Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. George Bower, 18. Nepo Laulala, 19. Shannon Frizell, 20. Hoskins Sotutu, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. David Havili, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown.
SHARE ME