‘He won’t let you down’ – All Blacks legend urges Scott Robertson to recall veteran after Aaron Smith’s retirement
All Blacks and Hurricanes scrum-half TJ Perenara.
Despite only returning to action recently, after a lengthy stint on the sidelines due to injury, Hurricanes scrum-half TJ Perenara should be included in the All Blacks squad for their upcoming series against England.
That is the word from legendary New Zealand number nine Justin Marshall, who made 81 international appearances for the All Blacks between 1995 and 2005.
More than a year on the sidelines
Perenara was ruled out for more than a year after rupturing his Achilles during an end-of-year Test against England at Twickenham in 2022.
The 32-year-old made a full recovery before making a successful comeback for the Hurricanes at Super Rugby Pacific level and Marshall feels All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson should pick Perenara in his squad for their fixtures against the Red Rose in Dunedin on July 6 and in Auckland a week later.
With Aaron Smith retiring after last year’s Rugby World Cup in France and Cam Roigard sidelined for the rest of the year with a serious knee injury, Marshall believes Perenara is a must for the All Blacks.
“TJ is a competitor, he’s tough,“ Marshall told The Breakdown. “He’s the type of guy who would relish the opportunity to get back in the All Blacks jersey and he won’t let you down.”
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Another retired All Blacks legend, former full-back Mils Muliaina, who said a week ago that the Blues’ Finlay Christie was his first-choice scrum-half for New Zealand, agreed with Marshall.
With Robertson being new in his position as the three-time world champions’ head coach, he will want immediate success and Muliaina feels it makes sense to include an experienced campaigner like Perenara, who has already won 80 Test caps.
“When you’re an All Blacks coach and you’ve just come in, you want to get success,” he said. “Now he’s got an opportunity to put someone perhaps a little more safe than Christie.”
A different type of player
Muliania added that Perenara is a different type of player for an All Blacks scrum-half spot to other contenders like Highlanders star Folau Fakatava.
“TJ comes in and he’s got a wealth of experience,” Muliaina said. “Having a guy there like TJ who can possibly even start, that’s kind of safe.”
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