Halfback TJ Perenara wants the lessons learned on his non-playing All Blacks tour put to good use when the Hurricanes open their Super Rugby campaign against the Sharks in Durban.

Perenara will be a key cog starting inside playmaker Beauden Barrett when the below-strength Hurricanes tackle a Sharks side shaping as one of South Africa’s strongest outfits following a 31-16 defeat of the Bulls last week.

The visitors will be without injured loose forwards Victor Vito and Brad Shields on Sunday morning (AEDT), leaving pressure on Perenara to make the most of any possession won against a Springboks-laden Sharks pack.

The 22-year-old remains upbeat about his team’s prospects, believing a two-game tour of South Africa is the ideal way to start the competition as it promotes team bonding. They face another stiff challenge against the Stormers next week.

Perenara wants to play an influential role in his third season of Super Rugby, wanting to showcase what he learned during the All Blacks tour to Japan and Europe.

He didn’t play in any of the four Tests, giving him a chance to focus on other aspects of his game.

“Playing for the Hurricanes, I began to think I knew everything I needed to,” Perenara said.

“But watching guys like (halves) Dan Carter and Aaron Smith preparing for games and playing was a great eye-opener. It made me realise there’s a lot more I can be doing with my prep and my game vision can improve.”

Perenara was poised to come off the bench in the final tour game, the nail-biting 24-22 win over Ireland.

However, coach Steve Hansen persisted with No.1 halfback Aaron Smith for 80 minutes as the All Blacks launched a heady comeback from 19-0 down.

“Just to be part of that is something I won’t forget,” Perenara said.

“When we got that try at the end to win, it was like a balloon popping. The whole ground just went silent.”

Perenara played for the Barbarians against Fiji at Twickenham a week later.

He is braced for the challenge of playing in sweltering conditions at Durban, where the unchanged home side are expected to launch a forward-based assault on a Hurricanes pack featuring two newcomers in lock Mark Abbott and flanker Adam Hill.