All Black and Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara says he hasn’t given the flag debate much thought, instead choosing to stay out of what has become a contentious issue amongst New Zealanders.
Training today at Rugby League park in Newtown, Perenara told Te Kāea, “I haven't put enough thought into it, I think there's been a lot of hype about it, but whatever happens and we will move forward with it.”
In the past week former All Blacks, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter have come out in support of the new flag. McCaw faced criticism on his Facebook page after he posted his opinion.
Perenara says whilst he isn’t an avid user of social media, he understands the influence that rugby players can have, “To be fair I don't use social media a lot but yeah you can have an influence I guess but it’s not something I consciously think about”
Instead Perenara may have bigger things on his plate, as an injury to Hurricane Captain Dane Coles, could see him out of the Canes super rugby starter this Friday against the Brumbies, with Perenara stepping into the Captaincy role.
Our reporter Ripeka Timutimu has more on Te Kāea at 5:30pm.