Makos prop Perry keen to get started [Marlborough Express]
After an injury-disrupted Super Rugby campaign, Crusaders prop Tim Perry can't wait to front up for the Tasman Makos this season - starting against Hawke's Bay at Blenheim's Lansdowne Park on Sunday.
Marlborough rugby headquarters is familiar turf for Perry who played for Harlequins and Marlborough in 2011 and 2012, before securing a Super Rugby contract with the Blues in 2013. After a year up north he was picked up by the six-times champion Crusaders for this year's campaign.
Perry worked his way into the starting line-up early in the piece but a couple of untimely injuries saw him miss the final stages of the season. However, the rugged prop says he has shaken off the injuries and is ready for action.
"I had a few niggles during the Super season but I've managed to get on top of them . . . I'm good to go."
He had a few ups and downs but was satisfied with his second season of Super Rugby. "It was generally pretty good . . . a bit disappointing at times. I was pretty happy with the game time I got before I was injured, and it would have been good to win [the title] obviously but that's sport, that's the way it goes."
One of the highlights of Perry's season was the chance to play for the Crusaders against the touring English side in June. "We were a wee bit rusty, we had a week off, but it was an awesome experience. It was good to play against those boys. It was a step up . . . another level . . . everything was executed with precision most of the time. It was good to have a run around against them."
Given the Englishmen's penchant for set piece dominance, Perry enjoyed the scrummaging. "[The scrums] weren't too bad. I thought we scrummed pretty well, they just went for a lot longer. Obviously they scrum for penalties and scrum a lot longer over there, but generally it went pretty well."
A niggling foot injury which he carried into the English encounter eventually sidelined Perry and, with Joe Moody regaining fitness at the business end of the Crusaders' season, he was unable to find a way back onto the playing roster. But the Crusaders' loss is good news for the Makos, with the 116kg prop feeling fresh and eager to make an impression for Tasman.
"I'm definitely looking forward to ripping into this [NPC] season," said Perry. "I love getting back up here for three or four months . . . it was awesome catching up with all the boys again."
On the personal front Perry says he is constantly learning. "I think my set piece has definitely got a bit better, just little things around the field. You learn something new, then you forget something else, which you have to go back and revisit. I've enjoyed my time down there [with the Crusaders in Christchurch]."He is unfazed that the Makos are stepping up in class this year, having won the 2013 Championship final and now facing the big guns in the Premiership division. "We played a lot of [the premiership sides] last year and won a few of those games. There's belief there that we can do it. We've just got to buy into the game plan and front."
After spending the 2013 season at the Blues, Perry admits there are subtle differences in the two franchises' cultures. "There are probably more people I can relate to down here. I enjoyed both team environments, but I just didn't like the city too much."
There are other advantages to living in the South Island, with the keen hunter able to indulge his passion on his days off and live closer to family and friends. Perry signed a two-year deal with the Crusaders this year so will be back in 2015, a year when many of his team-mates will be involved in preparation for the Rugby World Cup.
While that may open up more opportunities for the 26 year-old, next year and beyond, he's not concerned with future scenarios at the moment. "I'll just wait and see what happens. I'm keen to get stuck into this season first."
Perry hasn't been back in Marlborough since taking part in the Woodbourne Pig Hunt in June, and is looking forward to making a return. "It's always good going back to Lansdowne. I love getting back up here, it's always good fun . . . the Makos are an awesome group of boys."
- The Marlborough Express
