It was the year 2000 and for Perenise, playing rugby was therapy from the working week. He was 34, captain of Weymouth Rugby Club. When he was injured, he felt a pop in his neck and a shock through his body, but he soldiered on. Later, as he lay paralysed on the bedroom floor realising the severity of his situation, his thoughts were for his mum and dad in Samoa. He had been saving to buy them a car. 

You can’t know Perenise without knowing his family. ‘Aiga is everything. Wife Brenda is his wahine toa, the ground beneath his feet. A year after his accident, they were blessed with a baby boy. Another year, another blessing – a baby girl. Perenise is immensely proud of them and so modest about his own achievements that it comes almost as a footnote: after two decades in a wheelchair, he has been learning to walk again. Using a frame, he pushes himself every day, working to make each day better than the last. Now that his children are grown, he plans to finish his social services studies. Helping others comes naturally and he’s known as a source of peer support in the spinal unit. 

Perenise can’t overstate his gratitude for the Rugby Foundation. Thanks to its help he was able to get that car for his parents and a home for his family, and has been able to meet his rugby heroes. The foundation holds a special place in his heart, he says, like a second family. We know just how much that means for Perenise. 

Article added: Tuesday 08 August 2023