TJ Perenara shares honest insight into injury after return to All Blacks squad

There was a time when All Black TJ Perenara thought “I might not play this game again.” Perenara ruptured his Achilles in the dying stages of a dramatic draw with England in 2022 which set the halfback on a journey along a tough road back to the national team.

Perenara missed the entire 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season with the Hurricanes before returning in a pre-season clash with Moana Pasifika this year. That brought an end to a more than 450-day wait for the 80-Test veteran.

Then, after coming off the bench in three of his first four regular-season appearances, the scrumhalf began a starting team regular following an unfortunate injury to superstar Cam Roigard. Perenara went on to start eight of the next nine matches for the Canes.

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It was during those performances in the No. 9 jersey that All Blacks fans almost unanimously began to consider Perenara a genuine Test candidate once again. On Monday night, that prediction from many came true.

More than 580 days after being helped from the field at Twickenham, Perenara was officially back with the All Blacks. The first squad of the Scott Robertson era was announced, with Perenara named as one of three halfbacks along with Finlay Christie and Cortez Ratima.

It was a moment Perenara almost always believed was going to happen, but there was a moment when doubt began to creep in. The All Black suffered some setbacks, including a second surgery which kept him on the sidelines for even longer.

“I’m going to say I was 99 per cent sure I would put myself in a position to be an All Black again,” Perenara told Newshub. “I didn’t know if I would make it, because it’s not my decision, but I thought I would play good enough rugby to do it.

“After the second surgery and three months into the rehab, things just weren’t progressing how I wanted them to or the way we thought they would, and I thought I might not be back. Within a week or so after that, things started to progress – I got some really good strength going and my ability to move started to increase.

“For the most part, I believe it, but there was that one little moment when I thought I might not play this game again.”

Folau Fakatava, Noah Hotham and the injured Cam Roigard are among the quality players who haven’t been named in the first squad of the year. The All Blacks have genuine depth at halfback but Perenara’s form just couldn’t be denied.

After coming off the bench in rounds three and four, Perenara scored a try in the Hurricanes’ next match against the Melbourne Rebels. That was the No.9’s first start of the season, and it was also the beginning of a stunning try-scoring run.

Perenara scored a try off the pine the following week against the Highlanders and backed that up with a double in the hard-fought win over the Chiefs in Wellington. Four tries in three matches is always going to capture headlines and leave fans talking.

By the end of the season, Perenara had made history by becoming the outright all-time top try scorer in Super Rugby history. But beyond that feat, Perenara had stood out by showing grace, skill and poise during the Hurricanes’ run to the semi-finals.

“I believe that chapter is now closed, getting here,” Perenara explained. “It was long and there were hard parts to it, but it’s a new chapter – it’s about what’s next for me in this jersey.

“I want to be a great All Black and I want to have an impact on winning in this environment, and that means there’s a lot of hard work still to come. I’m excited by that, I want to work as hard as I can to be the greatest All Black I can.

“Yes, there’s some cool stuff I’ve learnt from that experience, but the next chapter starts.”