TJ Perenara is on the comeback from two Achilles operations and says he is determined to challenge Cam Roigard, the hottest halfback in the country, for a starting position at the Hurricanes.
Perenara has played no rugby for just over 12 months due to an Achilles tear suffered while playing for the All Blacks in the 25-all draw against England at Twickenham in November last year.
In his absence, Roigard, 23, has impressed hugely – first with the Hurricanes and then with the All Blacks, including during the World Cup, although his opportunities in France were limited behind Aaron Smith and Finlay Christie.
Perenara, a 31-year-old who has played 80 Tests, is back training to about 70% and hopes to be available for the Hurricanes’ first match of the season against the Force in Perth in late February. In fact, he hopes to start it.
“The last few months I’ve made some really positive jumps… I’m probably at about 70% and I feel comfortable out there now,” he told media after a Hurricanes training session today.
Perenara had his first surgery this time last year after damaging his Achilles when attempting to charge down a Marcus Smith conversion attempt at Twickenham.
“I thought someone had kicked me in the back of the leg," he said. "I turned around and Hoskins [Sotutu] was there. I had a go at him and he said ‘I didn’t touch you’. I knew from stories from people who had torn their Achilles that that’s what it feels like.”
Perenara said the biggest challenge of his rehabilitation was coming into training every day for the only the smallest of improvements.
“There was never a moment of ‘I’m done’, but there were plenty of moments where those little moments weren’t enough, I guess,” he said.
“Nothing really prepares you for that. You get taken from playing at Twickenham on the biggest stage to rehabbing for hopefully 14 months by the time I get back.”
The departures of senior players Ardie Savea, who is on a sabbatical in Japan, and Dane Coles – also playing in Japan but finished with the game in New Zealand – means Perenara’s return and experience will be extra important for the Hurricanes next year.
He is also likely to play an important role at the All Blacks after the departure of Smith overseas given Roigard and Christie’s relative inexperience.
Perenara’s relationship with Roigard, the young up-and-comer, will be a focal point next year and the veteran is keen to push him all the way. Roigard provided virtually the only highlight of the All Blacks' record defeat to the Springboks in the World Cup warm-up when scoring his late try and is an exciting prospect as the nation prepares for Scott Robertson's leadership at the All Blacks.
“Cam and I, I think we have a very unique opportunity to be the two best nines in the country at one club,” Perenara said.
“Having that dynamic of working together – whatever that looks like out on the field – will be important for us winning the competition.
“I think a lot of people and a lot of media might try to shape it as being against each other in a negative way. We are competitive and both of us want to play big minutes but both of us want the other person to be playing really well too.
“Cam had a fantastic year [this] year. He was one of the top performing nines in our country and maybe one of the top performing nines in the world.
“For him to play at that level… he may need to exceed that because people will know who Cam Roigard is and the threat he poses on the field.”
Perenara said he did have interest from overseas clubs but wanted to commit to New Zealand because of being robbed of a whole year of rugby here.
He said his explosive power off the mark was his biggest area of improvement but that after doing a variation of Cross Fit training with some teammates after the NPC season that he was in the best physical shape of his life.
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