TJ Perenara at Twickenham. Photo / Photosport
With his future now confirmed to be offshore, TJ Perenara will spend his final days as an All Black making sure the next generation of halfbacks are up to the mark.
As first revealed by the Herald, Perenara has signed a three-year deal to leave New Zealand for Japan at the end of 2024 and join Ricoh Black Rams.
Given New Zealand’s stocks at halfback, Perenara’s move is a shrewd one. Even after playing his way back into the All Blacks under new coach Scott Robertson this year, he’ll only be 35 by the time the next Rugby World Cup rolls around.
Already this year Perenara has faced competition at club level from Cam Roigard, even if injury prematurely settled the debate in the veteran’s favour by default.
But when Perenara suffered an injury of his own in the season opener against England, Robertson turned to the pair of Cortez Ratima and Noah Hotham for debuts in the two tests that followed.
So good were Ratima and Hotham that Robertson made the call to swing the axe on Finlay Christie for his Rugby Championship squad, and back the two rookies alongside Perenara.
Now,, with his days numbered, Perenara is making it his mission to ensure the new wave of No 9s are best equipped to become All Blacks regulars in the years to come.
“Everyone knows we’ve got a surplus in that position,” he said. “Cam is obviously coming back from his injury, but the footy he was playing before he was injured was pretty special.
“[With] our depth at nine at the moment, we’re really lucky. I want to be part of helping those boys over the next four or five months as well.
“I know what it’s like being a young guy in the environment. All that hype at the start, everyone’s nice and it sounds really good. But media has a job to do, fans want results. As much as they pump us up early, they’re very quick to turn.
“So to be there for those boys over this period is something I’m looking forward to.”
Perenara also made it clear that the growing depth at halfback wasn’t the sole reason for opting to sign in Japan.
At 32, this contract will likely be Perenara’s last chance to secure a high-paying contract before he retires.
And while his last commitment to New Zealand Rugby came at the expense of switching to rugby league and the Sydney Roosters, there was no interest on Perenara’s part to chase the same opportunity this time around.
While Japan is seen as an easier alternative to Europe for All Blacks heading offshore, Perenara asserts the game in Rugby League One is much harder than it’s given credit for.
But with the chance to secure his family’s future, competition for his All Blacks place was a secondary consideration for Perenara.
“It doesn’t play a massive factor in it,” he said. “I was really confident in my ability to push other halfbacks in the country to be the best halfback we’ve got.
“We do have a lot of depth there. But a big reason for us [leaving] was security as a family.
“The opportunity to sign a three-year deal in Japan arose, and we didn’t have a three-year deal here in New Zealand.
“For us, that was a big factor [in] going over.”
Alex Powell is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016 and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.