PERENARA'S HILARIOUS TAUNT AFTER CLAIMING SAVEA'S SUPER RUGBY TRYSCORING RECORD

TJ Perenara had a couple of reasons to celebrate after his record-setting try during the Hurricanes' demolition of the Waratahs propelled him to the top of Super Rugby list of all-time leading tryscorers.

The veteran halfback efforts came with the additional bonus of one-upping former long-time teammate and good friend Julian Savea, who made more than 100 appearances at the Hurricanes and is now playing his maiden season with Moana Pasifika.

With time expired, Perenara sniped over at the base of a tryline ruck to claim his 63rd try and break the deadlock with Savea - momentarily, at least.

Asked during Sky's post-match broadcast if he had any special message for Savea to mark the occasion, Perenara said he had a subtle taunt in mind.

"I might just send him a photo from the changing room, sitting next to his locker or something like that," Perenara laughed. "Just something cheeky.

"No words or anything, because I know if I say something to him - he's on 62 at the moment - he'll go out and score two tries tomorrow."

Savea, who broke Israel Folau's long-standing mark against the Rebels last month, will have a shot at reclaiming his mantle during Moana Pasifika's historic clash with the Highlanders in Tonga on Saturday.

Perenara's 63 tries have come through 158 outings for the Hurricanes over 12 years, contrasted with Savea's 161 total appearances - 153 for the Canes and eight for his new club.

After the match, Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw paid tribute to Perenara's tireless work ethic and uncanny ability to find the line from his position.

"He's a halfback - it's unreal isn't it?" Laidlaw said. "When you look at the list, there's not many halfbacks floating around, but I'm sure Jules will be sitting back, hunting one down tomorrow.  

"I've said all along it's his competitiveness, his mindset to try and improve. You come into work, he's there at 7am - he's there on his day off.

"He gets exactly what he deserves."

The halfback was one of six tryscorers against the Waratahs, who found themselves down 26-0 after in as many minutes in a Hurricanes blitz that put the result to bed early in an emphatic response to last weekend's win-streak snapping defeat to ACT Brumbies.

The result cemented the Hurricanes' standing atop the competition standings and, with just four games remaining, the experienced Perenara realises what's now required to ensure his team retain home advantage throughout the playoffs.

"We need to be sharper at what we're already good at it," said the 80-test All Black. "It is the business end of the year, and a lot of teams talk at the start of the year about their standards and what they will do, and what they're willing to sacrifice in order to win the competition and this is when it really counts.

"It's getting colder. People might not have played as many minutes as they'd have liked to have played... people are injured.  

"How we can harness our group and bring them together for the back-end of this competition is going to be really important."

The Hurricanes will need to lift those standards even further for next weekend's mouthwatering clash with the Blues at Eden Park. The Blues sit a solitary bonus point behind the Hurricanes in second place on the ladder, after their routine 38-11 win over the Rebels.

"Can't wait," said Laidlaw. "The Blues are playing good.

"We've had a good look at them as coaches this week and had a catch-up today. They're powerful.

"I thought they showed real resilience last week to come back from a couple of tries down and [coach] Vern [Cotter] is doing a good job with them.

"They have a lot of power coming through the front door and the X factor they've got at the back, once the game breaks open is as obvious."

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2024-05-03T21:01:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd