The TOTW has players from eight teams after a round that saw the last unbeaten team toppled at home, while Hurricanes centre Vince Aso is POTW.

The Waratahs, desperate for a victory to breath some life into a disappointing start to the season, beat the Lions in Sydney and their two book ends, Gus Bell and Harry Johnson-Holmes make the TOTW. Bell [pictured below] scored a try while young fly-half Will Harrison made 12 carries and 14/14 tackles and beat seven defenders. Wallaby flanker Michael Hooper returned to form winning a joint round-high three turnovers and he provided a try assist.

Like the 'Tahs the Rebels were also chasing a much needed victory and in a strong display won their first ever match away against the Highlanders in Dunedin. It was a very competent allround team performance spear-headed by wing Andrew Kellaway. He gained a round-high 158m from just seven carries - the fourth most ever by a Rebels player - as well as scoring a brace of tries and making three clean breaks.

The Hurricanes were favourites to beat the Sunwolves in Napier and while it was relatively close at the break the 'Canes were rampant in the second half. In a comfortable win the outside backs Chase Tiatia [2] and Jacobus Van Wyk [3] scored five tries between them thanks to some superlative work by their centres.

Indeed centres Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso were on fire. Laumape made three clean breaks, two offloads and gained 99m from his 13 carries, and crossed for a try. Not to be outdone Aso provided four try assists - the most by a player in a Super Rugby game in the last 10 seasons - and scored one try; he also made six clean breaks, two offloads, and beat seven defenders and gained 120m from his 11 carries. Vince Aso is the Player of the Week.


Up front special mention to Jaguares lock Guido Petti who makes his fourth TOTW from five rounds to date. He put in another big shift as the Jaguares won on the road against the Bulls - he won a round-high 10 lineouts (inc. two steals), made 8/8 tackles, gained 28m from seven carries and scored a try.

15

Chase Tiatia

Hurricanes

Scored two tries, provided one try assist, made four clean breaks and gained 79m from his nine carries.

14

Jacobus Van Wyk

Hurricanes

Crossed for a hat-trick of tries - more than any other player in the round - as well as beating four defenders and gaining 72m from his nine carries.

13

Vince Aso

Hurricanes

Provided four try assists - the most by a player in a Super Rugby game in the last 10 seasons - and scored one try; Aso also made six clean breaks, two offloads, and beat seven defenders as well as gaining 120m from his 11 carries.

12

Ngani Laumape

Hurricanes

Made three clean breaks, two offloads and gained 99m from his 13 carries, crossing for a try in the Hurricanes comprehensive win over the Sunwolves.

11

Andrew Kellaway

Rebels

Gained a round-high 158m from just seven carries - the fourth most ever by a Rebels player - as well as scoring a brace of tries and making three clean breaks.

10

Will Harrison

Waratahs

Made 12 carries and 14/14 tackles - more than any other fly-half in either category and beat seven defenders.

9

Aaron Smith

Highlanders

Made two clean breaks, gained 20m and scored a try from his 7 carries, as well as winning one turnover.

1

Gus Bell

Waratahs

Gained 52m - more than any other prop - from five carries, also beating five defenders and scoring one try.

2

Kurt Eklund

Blues

Made more carries (10) than any other hooker, gaining 37m and making one clean break, as well as making 9/9 tackles and making eight successful lineout throws from 10 attempts.

3

Harry Johnson-Holmes

Waratahs

Made more tackles (13) than any other prop without missing a single attempt; he also made three carries and beat one defender.

4

Guido Petti Pagadizaval

Jaguares

Won a round-high 10 lineouts (inc. two steals), made 8/8 tackles, gained 28m from seven carries and scored a try.

5

Mike Stolberg

Sunwolves

Won seven lineouts, made two clean breaks from four carries and made 8/10 tackles, as well as scoring a try.

6

Marco van Staden

Bulls

Made 16 carries - the most of any forward - and made 13/13 tackles as well as winning one turnover, making two clean breaks and scoring a try.

7

Michael Hooper

Waratahs

Won a joint round-high three turnovers, made 16/17 tackles and provided a try assist.

8

Marino Mikaele Tu'u

Highlanders

Gained 81m - the most of any forward - from his 11 carries, also beating three defenders, making 11/13 tackles and winning five lineouts (inc. one steal).

 

AND.... here is an over 30 TOTW for Round #5...

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.