Scrumhalf TJ Perenara has opened up on his 'dark moments' during his Japan stint as the All Blacks prepare for an extended stint away from home and family
The number one-ranked Kiwis are set to spend the rest of the year away from home, set to head to Europe after The Rugby Championship.
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This was the catalyst for their initial hesitance to leave New Zealand as the country entered lockdown, forcing the third Bledisloe Test to be moved back a week.
With a number of players set to be away from their families for up to four months, Perenara is looking to implement his own wisdom and concedes they need to embrace their 'human' side of emotions if they wish to deal with it properly.
“We’ve got an understanding that it’s not going to be easy,” Perenara told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’ve only down one week away and we’ve done some learnings from that but we have to allow ourselves the ability and time to be able to come down from stuff like that.
"We’re rugby players, sportsmen who want to compete at the highest level so we expect ourselves to be performing at that level but as humans, we need to be able to give ourselves time to have those down moments to be able to connect at home, as brothers and family off the field.
“I think that allows us to play at a high level. If we kid ourselves and try to stay up the whole time, there will at some point a crash and that’s what we don’t want so our ability to take care of the human side of things and separate them from the rugby side of it is crucial.
“Having been away from my family, the best way I can help is with young fathers who are currently away from their families, talking through what I went through being away from my family and the tools I put in place because the last thing I want is for some of those players to go through some of those darker moments that I went through at the start of my time away from family."
Perenara spent the majority of the season plying his trade in Japan for NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes.
This trip weighed heavy on the 29-year-old, having only recently welcomed a baby girl into the world last August.
He believes the time away changed his perspective on the game, allowing him to become a better person and teammate.
“I think a big thing for me over there was that I was over there myself without my family and that was really hard,” he admitted. “I was using Rugby as my only tool of happiness I think that sort of got me into a tough spot mentally.
“Being able to take myself out of that and be happy outside of Rugby and not need the game to make me happy has made me a better player, trainer and teammate to my team.
“I also came back in my mindset with what I owed to Rugby for the support it gave me while I was away from my family. It was my constant - it was something I knew I had every day.”
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The All Blacks will remain in Perth until the end of the week before travelling to Queensland for Sunday's match against Argentina.
Perenara and the All Blacks are very familiar with the challenges the Pumas face and are expecting a physical battle at CBUS Super Stadium.
“We understand that it is a bit of a beast coming this week," Perenara said on the Pumas.
“They are a very big team. They play with a lot of speed and a lot of passion, and they are very physical. That isn’t to say Australia aren’t; they just implement it in different ways.
“They enjoy that one-on-one collision; they enjoy getting around the corner and coming straight at you so it’s a part of their game that we will need to adjust to but something we know how well they can be when they get it well."
