The TOTW has players from nine teams following an eventful round that delivered three away wins while Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi is POTW.
The Sharks have started the season in red hot form and are unbeaten following a strong victory over the Highlanders. Flanker James Venter is learly enjoying his new team and won two turnovers, made 15 tackles and scored a try. His teammate Aphelele Fassi was electric and scored two tries, made four clean breaks, beat seven defenders and made 7/8 tackles. He is the Player of the Week.
TOTW wingers saw plenty of action with the Lions' Tyrone Green beating eight defenders on his way to scoring two tries, while Blues' Mark Telea went one better scoring three tries and gaining 139 metres and he also beat eight defenders.
The statistics gave us an all-Australian prop pairing with Reds' JP Smith and Brumbies Alan Alaalatoa strong in defence, while Crusaders hooker Codi Taylor was in fine form. He made more tackles (14) than any other hooker - and didn't miss a single attempt - as well as making six successful lineout throws and beating two defenders.
Despite losing on the bell to the Hurricanes in Buenos Aires, the Jaguares contribute three players: Lock Guido Petti makes the team for the second consecutive week, as one of only four players to make 10+ tackles and carries, as does fly-half Domingo Miotti who kicked five goals and completed 8/10 tackles - the most of any fly-half. They are joined by Marcos Kremer who made 18 tackles - the second most of any player - from 20 attempts and crossed for a try.
|
15 |
Aphelele Fassi |
Sharks |
Scored two tries and provided the assist for another, as well as making four clean breaks, beating seven defenders and making 7/8 tackles. |
|
14 |
Tyrone Green |
Lions |
Only one player beat more than Green's eight defenders; the Blues' flyer also scored a brace of tries, made two clean breaks and completed all three tackle attempts. |
|
13 |
Joe Marchant |
Blues |
Made 7/7 tackles, scored a try, beat five defenders and made one offload from his seven carries. |
|
12 |
Ngani Laumape |
Hurricanes |
Only Emiliano Boffelli (7) made more clean breaks than Laumape (4) this round; the Hurricanes' flyer also beat eight defenders, made two offloads, and provided one try assist. |
|
11 |
Mark Telea |
Blues |
Gained 139m - more than any other player - from 10 carries, beat eight defenders, made two clean breaks, one offload and scored a hat-trick of tries. |
|
10 |
Domingo Miotti |
Jaguares |
Kicked five goals from six place kick attempts, created one try assist, made 14 kicks in play and completed 8/10 tackles - the most of any flyhalf. |
|
9 |
Tate McDermott |
Reds |
Beat more defenders (5) and made more carries (9) than any other scrumhalf, as well as crossing for a try and making one try assist. |
|
1 |
Jean-Pierre Smith |
Reds |
Made three carries, 10/12 tackles, and won one turnover in 68 minutes of game time. |
|
2 |
Codie Taylor |
Crusaders |
Made more tackles (14) than any other hooker - and didn't miss a single attempt - as well as making six successful lineout throws and beating two defenders. |
|
3 |
Allan Alaalatoa |
Brumbies |
Made 16 tackles from as many attempts - the most of any player with a 100% success rate this round - as well as providing a try assist and making six carries. |
|
4 |
Guido Petti |
Jaguares |
One of only four players to make 10+ carries and tackles (10 carries, 10 tackles), beat two defenders, and stole a round-high three lineouts - the last time any player other than himself stole more was in March 2013 (4 - Sam Whitelock). |
|
5 |
Scott Barrett |
Crusaders |
Gained 25m from 10 carries, made 14/17 tackles, won two turnovers and won one lineout. |
|
6 |
James Venter |
Sharks |
Gained 43m from just two carries, which also included a clean break and a try scored, as well as making 15/16 tackles and winning two turnovers. |
|
7 |
Marcos Kremer |
Jaguares |
Made 18 tackles - the second most of any player - from 20 attempts, as well as making the joint-most carries (16) of any player; Kremer also won one turnover, and crossed for a try. |
|
8 |
Marino Mikaele Tu'u |
Highlanders |
Gained 102m - more than any other forward - from his nine carries, beating seven defenders and making three clean breaks; he also won six 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.
