Last-minute All Blacks debut a long time coming for Whanganui's Stephen Perofeta
The All Blacks debut of Whanganui's Stephen Perofeta has been a long time coming.
Perofeta made his debut off the bench for New Zealand against Argentina in Christchurch on Saturday night.
He was called onto the field for the last 50 seconds of the game, becoming Whanganui's newest All Black.
Whanganui Collegiate School director of sport Barry Touzel said Perofeta's moment had been a long time coming.
He said from Perofeta's time playing for Collegiate, he knew he had the potential to go far in rugby.
"When he was playing for us, we thought he had a chance of playing rugby as a profession at least in some capacity, we knew he was going places and I suppose we really hoped he would go all the way," Touzel said.
He said Perofeta had been in line for selection for the end-of-year Japan and UK tours three or four years ago, before suffering an injury to his pectoral muscle a month before the tour.
"As an armchair expert, if he'd been fit, he probably would have gone on that tour and then it was just a matter of getting back to where he was," Touzel said.
That injury put him out for the better part of a season, so Touzel was proud to see Perofeta make his way back to the team and have that work pay off on Saturday night.
Whanganui Rugby Union chief executive Bridget Belsham said Perofeta's debut was great for both Whanganui rugby and for Whanganui in general.
"He's worked so hard and it's so exciting for his family and the Whanganui community to see another All Black," Belsham said.
She said the Whanganui Rugby Union was proud of Perofeta as he'd worked very hard to get to that point.
Belsham said Perofeta played all his junior rugby games and first class games for Whanganui in 2015, before moving to Taranaki in 2016.
Whanganui Rugby Union chairman Jeff Phillips said Perofeta's debut showed how people could still make it to the top of the sport while coming through the provincial ranks.
"[It was] really good to show that you can come out of the Heartland regions and come out with ambition and still succeed in your career choice in life," Phillips said.
He said he spent time with Perofeta during away trips while he was playing for the Whanganui Heartland team and, on top of being a talented player, he was also a level-headed person.
"He was pretty shy when he was with Whanganui to be fair, but he was quite young."
Phillips said he spoke to Perofeta recently in Auckland and he had come a long way in his game since his time playing for Whanganui.
Belsham and Phillips said they hoped Perofeta would get more of a chance to show his skills in the next test match against Argentina on Saturday, September 3, at FMG Stadium in Hamilton.
Stephen Perofeta's rugby career
2013: Debuts for Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV
2015: Makes Whanganui senior team while still at school
2015: Named in Heartland XV
2015: Finalist in Heartland Player of the Year
2016: Joins Taranaki provincial side
2016-17: Selected for New Zealand Under 20 teams
2017: Signs for Blues in Super Rugby competition
2021: Wins Duane Monkley Medal for NPC best player
June 2022: Named in All Blacks squad for Ireland tour
August 2022: Makes All Blacks debut off bench against Argentina