The Super Rugby TOTW has representatives from 10 of the teams following another intriguing round of matches with the forward pack made of eight players from eight of the teams.

The results have led to the South African conference being really close with only four points separating first to fifth place. The Crusaders and Hurricanes now dominate in New Zealand, while Australia still looks wide open...with just the Sunwolves starting to fade out of Finals contention.

It is some forward pack and includes the form flanker of the tournament Ardie Savea who made 17 tackles, beat five defenders, made two clean breaks and scored a try from his six carries. He is joined in an impressive backrow by the imposing Jaguares skipper Pablo Matera who made four more carries than any other forward and won two turnovers, and Daniel du Preez - one of three Sharks' players to make 10+ tackles and 10+ carries, he also crossed for a try and made two clean breaks.

Brumbies hooker Folau Fa' ainga continues his push for international honours this year making a round-high 13 successful throws, 11/11 tackle attempts and he crossed for a try from his 10 carries. Another pushing his Test chances is Crusaders winger Sevu Reece who made four clean breaks, beat 10 defenders and crossing for a brace of tries.

Young fly-half Josh Ioane makes the TOTW for the first time after steering the Highlanders to victory over the Chiefs while the team has a formidable centre pairing in All Black Anton Lienert-Brown from the Chiefs and up-and-coming talent Brendon Ennor from the Crusaders.

Hurricanes utility back Jordie Barrett also impressed at fullback and is Player of the Week. He gained a round-high 196 metres - the most of any player in a game this season - beat 10 defenders, provided two try assists, and scored two tries of his own as his Hurricanes ran out to a 47-19 win over the Chiefs.

 

15

Jordie Barrett

Hurricanes

Gained a round-high 196 metres - the most of any player in a game this season - beat 10 defenders, provided two try assists, and scored two tries of his own as his Hurricanes ran out to a 47-19 win over the Chiefs.

14

Sevu Reece

Crusaders

Made the joint-most clean breaks (4) and beat the joint most defenders (10) of any player, crossing for a brace of tries and assisting one too.

13

Braydon Ennor

Crusaders

Made three clean breaks, gained 116m from 10 carries, and scored his game's opening try - Ennor has now scored the first try of the game on three occasions this season, no player has done so more often.

12

Anton Lienert-Brown

Chiefs

Only Kurtley Beale (21) made more carries than Lienert-Brown (19), the Chiefs' flyer also threw five offloads, beat eight defenders and made 9/9 tackles.

11

Tevita Li

Highlanders

Made four clean breaks and 126 metres from 13 carries, as well as crossing for a brace of tries.

10

Josh Ioane

Highlanders

Finished with a round-high tally of 15 points courtesy of a try and five conversions, as well as laying on a try assist and making two offloads.

9

Aaron Smith

Highlanders

Made two try assists and completed all seven of his tackle attempts, as well as gaining 32m and beating three defenders from six carries.

1

Harry Johnson-Holmes

Waratahs

Made 13 carries - the most of any prop forward - as well as 12 tackles without a single miss.

2

Folau Fainga'a

Brumbies

Made a round-high 13 successful throws, 11/11 tackle attempts, and crossed for a try from his 10 carries.

3

Carlu Sadie

Lions

Made 17 tackles - more than any other prop forward and the joint third-most of any player overall, as well as winning a turnover.

4

Cobus Wiese

Stormers

Beat five defenders - the joint-most of any forward - made three offloads and 12/14 tackles, as well as winning a turnover.

5

Thomas Franklin

Highlanders

No other forward beat more defenders than Franklin (5), who also made a joint round-high four clean breaks among all players, and finished with three lineout wins.

6

Pablo Matera

Jaguares

Made four more carries than any other forward, gaining 44m, as well as making 8/9 tackles and winning two turnovers.

7

Ardie Savea

Hurricanes

Only two players made more tackles than Savea (17), who also beat five defenders, made two clean breaks, and scored a try from his six carries.

8

Daniel du Preez

Sharks

One of three Sharks' players to make 10+ tackles and 10+ carries, Du Preez also crossed for a try and made two clean breaks.

 

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.