The Super Rugby TOTW has representatives from nine of the teams from a round that produced slim pickings for the away teams and seven home wins. 

The Crusaders lead the way contributing three players after their big win over the Chiefs. Once again Crusaders fullback Will Jordan impressed and scored two tries; Hurricanes centre Ngani Laumape continued his fine form with another two tries and an all action performance; while Waratahs flanker Michael Hooper made a round high 23 tackles.

Blues wing Rieko Ioane is Player of the Week after signalled his return to form against the Sunwolves in Auckland with 12 carries, four clean breaks and four tries.

Only two teams remain unbeaten after Round #4: The Crusaders and Rebels.

 

15

Will Jordan

Crusaders

Scored a brace of tries, beat six defenders, and gained 98m from 14 carries.

14

Sevu Reece

Crusaders

Gained a round-high 153m from 16 carries, also made a round high five clean breaks, scored one try and assisted another.

13

Wandisile Simelane

Lions

One of just two players (Sevu Reece) to gain over 100m, beat a joint round-high seven defenders, and crossed for a try.

12

Ngani Laumape

Hurricanes

Made three clean breaks and beat six defenders from 14 carries, as well as crossing for a brace of tries and completing 5/5 tackles.

11

Rieko Ioane

Blues

Scored a joint Super Rugby record four tries and made four clean breaks from 12 carries.

10

Handre Pollard

Bulls

Scored a round-high 22 points, made nine tackles, 10 kicks in play, and beat two defenders.

9

Will Genia

Rebels

No player beat more defenders than Genia (7, most by a scrum-half since 2016), who also made nine kicks in play, provided a try assist and scored one of his own.

1

Harry Johnson-Holmes

NSW Waratahs

Made 19 tackles, the second most of any player and won a round-high five turnovers.

2

Armand van der Merwe

Sharks

Landed 13 successful throws, the most of any player with a 100% success rate, as well as providing one try assist and making 50m from 9 carries.

3

Trevor Nyakane

Bulls

Made 11/12 tackles for the Bulls in their win over the Sharks, as well as winning a turnover.

4

Joshua Goodhue

Blues

Completed 15/17 tackles, won two lineouts and two turnovers.

5

Scott Barrett

Crusaders

Carried 12 times for 34m gained and made 10/11 tackles, as well a making an offload and beating two defenders.

6

Rob Valetini

Brumbies

Made a team-high 16 tackles, gained 22m from nine carries, and beat two defenders.

7

Michael Hooper

NSW Waratahs

Made a round-high 23 tackles - four more than any other player - and gained 17m from six carries and won two turnovers.

8

Daniel du Preez

Sharks

His 14 carries (for 61m) was the joint second-most of any forward, also made three offloads and scored a try.

 


 

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.