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Hurricanes dealt injury blow as TJ Perenara set for sideline spell

By Alex McLeod
(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The Hurricanes will begin their 2022 Super Rugby Pacific campaign without TJ Perenara after the veteran halfback sustained a knee injury that will keep him sidelined for about a month.

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Perenara was this week spotted donning a knee brace at the Hurricanes’ temporary home base in Queenstown, and head coach Jason Holland confirmed on Friday that the 78-test international had suffered an MCL injury.

“Teej [Perenara] had a really innocuous accident on Tuesday at training, took a little knock and twisted his knee. He’s going to be out for about a month or so,” Holland said.

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The loss of Perenara leaves the Hurricanes without their most experienced halfback for at least the first few weeks of the new competition, which begins for the Wellington franchise against the Crusaders in Dunedin next Saturday.

Following that match, the Hurricanes then have to face the Blues, who are considered title favourites alongside the Crusaders, in Queenstown before they take on Highlanders in Dunedin and Moana Pasifika in Wellington.

Holland will be hopeful about Perenara’s chances of returning to action for his side’s bout with Moana Pasifika on March 12, but the Hurricanes boss has full faith in the squad’s other halfbacks to fill his void.

Who exactly will replace Perenara, who hasn’t played for the Hurricanes since 2020 after joining the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes on a season-long sabbatical in Japan last year, remains to be seen, but there is no shortage of options.

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Leading the charge to replace Perenara is injury returnee Jamie Booth, who has been named to start for the Hurricanes in their final pre-season match of the year against the Crusaders in Arrowtown on Saturday.

The match acts as his first for the Hurricanes since 2020 after he broke his leg badly while playing for Manawatu two years ago.

However, the nippy 27-year-old faces stern competition from others who have been drafted into the Hurricanes set-up as injury cover.

The unavailability of young halfback Cam Roigard has allowed the likes of Richard Judd, Logan Henry and Leroy Carter all to enter the fray, with the latter two both named in the reserves for the pre-season clash against the Crusaders.

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“There’s still a little bit to learn tomorrow [against the Crusaders],” Holland said of who is in line to replace Perenara as the first-choice halfback for the opening weeks of the season.

“Obviously Jamie Booth is starting tomorrow and he’s been out for a period of time, so it’s his first 40 minutes back tomorrow.

“Logan Henry from Manawatu has come in and been awesome in our environment. We’ve got Richard Judd, and we’ve actually got Leroy Carter in here from sevens who has been outstanding in our environment too, so we’ve got four No 9s there.

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow and make the call then, but all really capable guys that have had a good spell of pre-season with us and really clear around what we’re trying to achieve.”

Holland confirmed the remainder of the squad’s All BlacksArdie Savea, Jordie Barrett, Dane Coles, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax – will be available for selection come round one.

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

33 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

33 Go to comments
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