TJ Perenara. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Comment - It's a long way down to where the All Blacks are staying from central London. You have to catch two trains and then walk about 2 kilometres to The Lensbury Resort, which is where they've made their home base in the sprawling metropolis for the last decade.
They get everything they need there, it's built for traveling sports teams so the training field is only a short walk from their rooms and can be sealed off from prying eyes. The suburb of Teddington that it sits in is nice, but a little sleepy but perfect for focusing on what will be a big test just down the road at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.
It's even further away from Jerry Collins Stadium in Porirua. That's where, only a few months ago, TJ Perenara was. His club side Norths, who he played for as a schoolboy, were in the Jubilee Cup final (Wellington's premier club prize) against Petone. Perenara had been dropped from the All Blacks, a team he had been a regular part of for almost a decade.
Norths won the final 23-20, with Perenara on hand to triumphantly boot the ball into touch. Now, heading into Twickenham, he's back in the All Blacks off a strong performance as reserve halfback last weekend in the win over Scotland.
"It has been an interesting year," Perenara said. The club title was just one taste of success for the 30-year-old, being out of the All Blacks meant he played a full provincial season for Wellington, who won the NPC and Ranfurly Shield.
"I think for me, winning the Jubilee, NPC and Ranfurly Shield - that's all cool but it's just part of the journey. Whether you make teams or don't make teams, that's another part."
It is a philosophical approach for the man who is one of the kaea (leader) of the All Black haka, as getting replaced by Finlay Christie and Folau Fakatava wouldn't have been easy. But Perenara's competitiveness, which makes him such a constant presence on any ref mic in games he plays in, isn't something that gets him down.
"I love the journey. I love the challenge of waking up every day and training hard, trying to be a better player and a better person, giving everything I have to each step."
His presence in the dying stages of the win over a Scotland team that were looking like breaking their 117-year duck against the All Blacks, along with fellow veteran Codie Taylor, played a big role in a very assured end to a test that finished 31-23 - leaving the Scots to wonder just how it slipped through their fingers.
Perenara is perhaps the only player in about two decades to claim to have played a full Super Rugby campaign, a decent chunk of the club season including a final, provincial rugby, a national A side and test rugby in the same year. He has become synonymous with the Hurricanes and Wellington region. His advice to those like him, who have been perennially on the fringe of test selection, is to enjoy the ride.
"If we focus too much on outcomes or results or selections, you get caught up in the destination. You don't enjoy the journey. It's been cool, but some moments this year have been more difficult than others. But I feel like I've been giving everything to the current moment that I'm in. Regardless of teams that I make or don't make, that's what I'm going to continue to do."
Still though, lifting a Jubilee Cup, the Shield and an NPC title before being dramatically recalled into the All Blacks for perhaps the biggest test of the year is an experience he admits feels pretty good right now.
"It'll be a year in my career that I'll look back on fondly."
