TJ Perenara says ‘I was never the best’ as he reflects on rise to All Blacks

Applauded for his actions on and off the field, TJ Perenara has proved he can tackle more than just rugby.

In the first of a three-part series on Te Karere, the Te Arawa and Ngati Rangitihi halfback has opened up on his origins and growing up in Titahi Bay in Porirua.

Surprisingly for some, Perenara says his rise to international rugby stardom was not based on a natural gift for rugby or being the star of his high school team.

“I was never the best player in my team, I always worked really hard.”

A desire to improve and grow their rugby skills was what propelled Perenara career, the then-17-year-old spurred on by Mana College teammate Terrence Hepetema.

“Neither of us were probably ever the best player on the team, we always pushed ourselves to work harder than anyone else,” he said.

“In our last couple of years, we had been going to the gym a lot we started to see we were getting better and starting to outgrow the other people around us on the field, whether it be how we saw the game or what we could do out on the field,” Perenara said.

The moment of realisation that he could make a career in rugby came in his first year of club rugby for Norths in Porirua.

“I started playing club rugby in my last year of high school and then to see that I could match it with men, when I was still 17 years old, I was like man I reckon I can do this but not based on a given gift or natural talent.”

Much of the 29-year-old’s work ethic has been influenced by his father, Thomas and playing with whanau and friends at Onepoto park as he grew up in Porirua.

“Dad coached me a lot as a kid, with extras and stuff, he never wanted to push me into doing extras if I wanted help doing extras he would always be there but I needed to show initiative and go down and do it by myself first.

“The love for rugby sort of grew from that love of sport, I enjoyed being able to work at a craft and knowing I was doing extras that other people weren’t and it was paying off on Saturday.”

“I got a lot of fulfilment out of that at a young age,” Perenara he said.

Part two of the series will air tomorrow at 4pm on Te Karere.