Super Rugby Round #15 Team of the Week

The TOTW has players from seven teams following two away wins, as Crusaders, Jaguares, Rebels, Brumbies and Sharks all won to strengthen their push for the Finals .... 

It was a good weekend for the top two teams in the Australian Conference with the Brumbies and Rebels both securing wins and the TOTW backline reflects this: Rebels fullback Dane Haylett-Petty and wing Marika Koroibete both feature as try scorers against the Sunwolves, while fly-half Quade Cooper created the joint-most try assists (2) by any player, landed the most conversions (6) and made the most tackles by a No.10 (12).

Player of the Week is Brumbies centre Tevita Kuridrani who was in even better form and was the only player to score a hat-trick (3 tries) in Round 15 and his 4 clean breaks were second-most of any player. Meanwhile, Highlanders winger Waisake Naholo returned to the field and form and scored a try, made the most carries (16) by a winger, gaining 104 running metres and winning the equal-most turnovers by any player (3).

Bulls lock RG DSmyman again features up front, he won the joint-second most lineout throws (8) of any player, while no second-rower won more turnovers (2) or beat more defenders (2). He is fast becoming a must-have for the Springbok pack. Joining him the second-row is Stormers' Cobus Wiese who won five lineouts, made 9/10 tackles, and gained 33m from eight carries, as well as crossing for a try.

The Chiefs hard-working pack has been rewarded with the inclusion of prop Atunaisa Moli and two impressive backrow forwards. Flanker Lachlan Boshier made the second-most tackles (22/25) and won the equal-most turnovers (3) of any player, as well as winning three lineouts. No.8 Pita Sowakula made the most tackles (27) of any player, scored a try and was the only forward in the round to make multiple clean breaks (2).

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.