The Super Rugby Team of the Week has players from six of the eight teams reflecting the closeness of the quarter-finals last weekend that eventually saw the home teams advance to the semi-finals. Waratah fly-half Bernard Foley is Player of the Week.

The 'Tahs fly-half scored two tries in his teams' come from behind win over the Highlanders. He also scored 25 points in the 30-23 victory and is currently the tournaments' top points scorer with a tally of 217.

 

15

Solomon Alaimalo

Chiefs

Made more carries (14) than any other fullback, provided a try assist, and made two clean breaks.

14

Brayden Ennor

Crusaders

Gained more metres (91) than any other bench player during the round, as well as beating six defenders and crossing for a try.

13

Anton Lienert-Brown

Chiefs

Made a round-high five clean breaks, two more than any other player, and crossed for a try.

12

Harold Vorster

Lions

Made 14 tackles, the second most of any back, 12 carries for 28m gained and a try scored.

11

Ben Lam

Hurricanes

Scored his 15th try of the campaign, equalling the record for most tries in a single Super Rugby season.

10

Bernard Foley

Waratahs

Made a round-high 14 kicks in play and finished with a personal tally of 25 points, the most of any Waratahs player in the last eight campaigns.

9

TJ Perenara

Hurricanes

Scored his first brace of tries in over two years, and made 12 kicks in general play, the second most of any player.

8

Luke Whitelock

Highlanders

Won four lineouts, made 8/8 tackles, and 13 carries - the most of any number 8.

7

Matt Todd

Crusaders

Won three turnovers and made three clean breaks from six carries, also crossing for a try.

6

Lachlan Boshier

Chiefs

Made 13/13 tackles, the equal second most of any player not to miss an attempt, and made two clean breaks and scored a try from 12 carries against the Canes.

5

Brodie Retallick

Chiefs

Won five lineouts, the equal second most of any player, made 15 carries for 30m gained, and beat three defenders.

4

Tyler Paul

Sharks

Made 19 tackles, the most of any player to not miss an attempt, beat two defenders, and won four lineouts including one steal.

3

Ruan Dreyer

Lions

Made 16 tackles, the second most of any prop, and made six carries for 10m gained.

2

Malcolm Marx

Lions

Won a round-high four turnovers, and made 13 tackles without missing a single attempt as well as crossing for a try.

1

Tendai Mtawarira

Sharks

Beat three defenders, a round-high among props, and gained 19m from eight carries, also making a clean break.

 

Opta Index: How does it work

The Opta Index allows genuine opportunities to compare and contrast both player and team strengths and weaknesses across Super Rugby, providing real insights pre-game as follows: 

After every match Opta completes a video analysis of every touch of the ball. Each action in the match is awarded a points value depending on the relative importance of the action. So for example, a try scores more points than a tackle, but a player loses points for a missed tackle.

The points are then weighted against the score at the time when the action took place (higher points if the score is closer), the time in the match (higher points at the start of the match) and the position on the pitch where it took place (higher points for actions closer to the goal line).

The player is then given a score for the match by adding up all his actions while he was on the field. The total match score is then weighted to take account of the strength of the opposition so that performances across many matches can be judged fairly.