Photo: Stefano Delfrate / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
TJ Perenara is one of those players who makes you lean forward every time he gets his hands on the ball. The Porirua kid turned into the heartbeat of the Hurricanes for over a decade, and his 163 caps for the franchise is a record that speaks for itself — that's not accumulation, that's dominance at one club over many years. As an All Black he brought an energy to the halfback position that felt distinctly his own: fast service, a ferocious breakdown presence, and a mouth that never really stopped, which I mean in the best possible way. His time with the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes in Japan showed he could carry that intensity into a different rugby culture, and he's done the same in the Japan Rugby League One with Black Rams Tokyo. Off the field, his advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights during the haka dedication moment back in 2019 took genuine courage — he didn't have to do it, but he did, and it mattered.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- TJ Perenara
- Name (Japanese)
- TJ・ペレナラ
- Reading
- TJ・ぺれなら
- Born
- January 23, 1992 (age 34)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Monkey
- Origin
- Porirua, New Zealand
- Height
- 184 cm
- Occupation
- rugby union player
2. Background
- University
- Mana College
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was TJ Perenara born?
Born January 23, 1992 (age 34).
Where is TJ Perenara from?
TJ Perenara is from Porirua, New Zealand.
What does TJ Perenara do?
TJ Perenara works as rugby union player.
How tall is TJ Perenara?
TJ Perenara is 184 cm.
Rugby union player — see all → · More people from New Zealand →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.