Our friends at Opta Sports have crunched the numbers to create the Super Rugby Team of the Week following the completion of Round 13.
Thisk week a number of players retain their spot in the Super Rugby TOTW following another impressive display.
Steven Kitshoff, Bismarck du Plessis, Sam Whitelock and Jaco Kriel all earned repeat selection as part of a formidable forward pack.
Colin Slade meanwhile posted the round's top score with his damaging all-round game from the No. 10 position a large part of the Crusaders' crushing victory over the Reds. Slade's teammates Nemani Nadolo and Whitelock - who galloped away for one of the tries of the season - were also included.
After posting back-to-back victories against Kiwi opposition, the Rebels are well and truly in the hunt for the Finals Series as Mike Harris, Dom Shipperley and Paul Alo-Emile fly the flag in Melbourne after the weekend.
See the full team selection and statistics below.
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| Number | Name | Team | Minutes | Opta Index* | Performance Fact |
| 1 | Steven Kitshoff | Stormers | 73 | 429 | Made 16 carries, no other prop forward reached double figures in this regard. The Stormers won 9/9 scrums, while their opponents won 3/6. |
| 2 | Bismarck du Plessis | Sharks | 54 | 401 | Landed 7/7 lineout throws and completed 11/12 tackles, winning two turnovers. He also scored a try. |
| 3 | Paul Alo-Emile | Rebels | 76 | 274 | Made the most tackles of any prop without a single miss (13), which included one turnover won. He conceded no penalties or turnovers. |
| 4 | Jeremy Thrush | Hurricanes | 80 | 418 | A try-scorer that made 13 carries and 18/20 tackles, only one other player made more. He also notched a clean break. |
| 5 | Sam Whitelock | Crusaders | 56 | 368 | Beat a round joint-high six defenders and gained 74 metres thanks to a fantastic long range solo try. |
| 6 | Jaco Kriel | Lions | 80 | 480 | A try-scorer that won a round-high four turnovers and completed 16 of 17 tackles. |
| 7 | David Pocock | Brumbies | 80 | 434 | Completed 18 of 19 tackles, only one other player made more at the weekend. He also won two turnovers and scored another try. |
| 8 | Steven Luatua | Blues | 80 | 384 | Made 15 carries and 10/10 tackles, beating two defenders and successfully offloading twice. |
| 9 | Will Genia | Reds | 74 | 330 | Made 78 passes, only one other player managed more at the weekend. He made two offloads and assisted a try for the Reds in a heavy defeat. |
| 10 | Colin Slade (c) | Crusaders | 80 | 638 | Scored a try and provided the killer pass for another. He kicked 8/10, gained over 100 metres and beat the joint-most defenders (6) this week. |
| 11 | Nemani Nadolo | Crusaders | 58 | 515 | Scored two tries and assisted two more. The round's top metre-maker (140) also had four clean breaks. |
| 12 | Matt Proctor | Hurricanes | 80 | 325 | Beat five defenders and gained 81 metres. Also assisted a try. |
| 13 | Dan Carter | Crusaders | 80 | 412 | Beat five defenders and made two clean breaks, providing a try assist. He also made 17/19 tackles. |
| 14 | Dom Shipperley | Rebels | 80 | 445 | Scored a try and made four clean breaks in total for a gain of 93 metres. He also got through 13/14 tackles and won a turnover. |
| 15 | Mike Harris | Rebels | 80 | 454 | Landed seven of eight goal kicks and made a clean break. He also made 12 tackles and won two turnovers. |
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.
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