The TOTW has players from eight teams following an action-packed first round that delivered just one away win... with the Jaguares leading the way after a strong home win over the Lions.

Many pundits had the Blues down to start the season strongly but new coach Warren Gatland marshalled his troops well and they overran the home side despite strong performances from wing Rieko Ioane who scored two tries and No.8 Hoskins Sotutu who made three offloads, made 7/7 tackles, beat five defenders, and won five lineouts.

The Crusaders jumped out of the blocks thumping the Waratahs at home with wing Will Jordan scoring two tries while team-mate David Havilii made a joint round-high four clean breaks, beat a round-high 11 defenders, and slotted six goals from eight attempts.

Stormers scrum-half Herschel Jantjies was at his all round best as the Cape Town side kept the Hurricanes scoreless in Africa.



In South America the Jaguares indicated they will be hard to beat this year by thumping the Lions 38-8. It is no surprise that they contribute the most number of players to the Team of the Week. Matias Moroni scored his first ever brace of tries in Super Rugby, while his fellow centre Juan Cruz Mallia made 11 tackles - the most of any outside back to not miss a single attempt - as well as three clean breaks, and one try assist. Up front lock Guido Petti made seven tackles without missing a single attempt, won seven lineouts, gained 20m from seven carries, and beat two defenders.

However, Jaguares fly-half Domingo Miotti was the star of the show in front of a partisan home crowd. He scored a round-high 18 points - just the second Jaguares player to score as many in a game (Nicolas Sanchez). He scored a try and six goals, as well as providing one try assist, and 16 kicks in play. He is the Super Rugby Player of the Week.

15

David Havili

Crusaders

Made a joint round-high four clean breaks, beat a round-high 11 defenders, and provided three offloads - no player made more; furthermore, he slotted six goals from eight attempts.

14

Will Jordan

Crusaders

Made more carries (18) and gained the second-most metres (143) than any other player, as well as scoring a brace of tries; he's now scored eight tries in six starts in Super Rugby.

13

Matias Moroni

Jaguares

Scored his first ever brace of tries in Super Rugby, beat seven defenders, made three clean breaks, and was successful with all five of his tackle attempts.

12

Juan Cruz Mallia

Jaguares

Made 11 tackles - the most of any outside back to not miss a single attempt - as well as three clean breaks, and one try assist.

11

Rieko Ioane

Blues

Scored multiple tries in a game (2) for the ninth time in his Super Rugby career, beat six defenders, and made two clean breaks.

10

Domingo Miotti

Jaguares

Scored a round-high 18 points - just the second Jaguares player to score as many in a game (Nicolas Sanchez) - from a try and six goals, as well as providing one try assist, and 16 kicks in play.

9

Herschel Jantjies

Stormers

Provided two try assists and was one of only three players to provide a try assist by kick; he also crossed for a try of his own, made 5/5 tackles, and made two clean breaks.

1

Steven Kitshoff

Stormers

Crossed for a try, gained 18m from seven carries, and made 3/3 tackles, as well as beating two defenders.

2

Samisoni Taukei'aho

Chiefs

Became the first Chiefs' hooker to score multiple tries in a Super Rugby game (2) in at least the last nine years; he made nine successful throws, made 13/14 tackles, and 11 carries.

3

Allan Alaalatoa

Brumbies

Made the joint-most tackles of any prop (13), provided one try assist, and made seven carries.

4

Guido Petti

Jaguares

Made seven tackles without missing a single attempt, won seven lineouts, gained 20m from seven carries, and beat two defenders.

5

Mike Stolberg

Sunwolves

Won a round-high 10 lineouts (inc. one steal), made 14/19 tackles, and gained 22m from five carries as well as making one clean break.

6

Marnus Schoeman

Lions

Stole one lineout, gained 21m from 10 carries, made 13/13 tackles, and made one clean break.

7

Vincent Tshituka

Lions

Made eight carries for 23m gained, 12/14 tackles, beat one defender, and won two lineouts.

8

Hoskins Sotutu

Blues

No forward made more clean breaks than Sotutu (2); the Blues' forward also made three offloads, 7/7 tackles, beat five defenders, and won five lineouts.

 

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.