Perenara's not an All Black... yet

The outstanding form of Hurricanes scrumhalf TJ Perenara this season has left many people perplexed as to why he missed out on an All Blacks call-up.

 

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has four scrumhalves in his squad, with Andy Ellis, Aaron Smith, Piri Weepu and Tawera Kerr-Barlow all considered to be ahead of Perenara in he pecking order.

 

The 20-year-old might feel a little aggrieved not to have been rewarded for his efforts this season, although he is still a Super Rugby rookie.

 

Perenara was the star of the show when the 'Canes dismantled the Rebels last weekend, and has seven tries to his name already in a brilliant debut season.

 

However, Hansen stressed that he has taken note of Perenara, but doesn't want to rush him into the international arena.

 

"To use horse racing terminology, you don't take a two-year-old and start him in the Melbourne Cup, you wait until he's ready," Hansen told allblacks.com.

 

"He's just a young colt, and we don't need to rush him."

 

There is no doubt that Perenara has a future in the All Blacks team, and he has already captained New Zealand schools and played for the victorious Baby Blacks in last year's Junior World Championships.

 

"There's no doubt that at some point in his career, if he continues to do what he's doing, he will play for the All Blacks," Hansen said.

 

"Our job is to make sure it's at the right time. We just need TJ to keep doing what he's doing, get a bit of a training age and then when we let him loose I'm sure we'll see something special.

 

"We know he's a good player and we're just being patient. We'll do the right thing by him, and the right thing by the All Blacks."