The Super Rugby Team of the Week has players from nine teams with the Chiefs and Brumbies leading the way after their victories in Week 17. The Sunwolves' Michael Little is Player of the Week.

Centre Michael Little has been one of the Sunwolves standout players this year and against the Bulls in Singapore he scored a try, assisted in another and didn't miss a tackle.

 

15

Solomona Alaimalo

Chiefs

Beat a round-high 10 defenders to take his season tally to 58, the second most of any player this season.

14

Andy Muirhead

Brumbies

Scored his third try in as many games and made three clean breaks.

13

Anton Lienert-Brown

Chiefs

Made 17 carries, a joint round-high by an outside back, and pitched in with a brace of try assists.

12

Michael Little

Sunwolves

Scored a try, assisted another, made 8/8 tackles and won a joint round-high four turnovers.

11

Sean Wainui

Chiefs

Wainui made a team-high three offloads from seven carries and also crossed for a try.

10

Jean-Luc du Plessis

Stormers

Made 15 tackles, a round-high for any back, assisted a try, and finished 2/2 with the boot.

9

TJ Perenara

Hurricanes

Scored a try, made two clean breaks, and won a brace of turnovers.

8

Amanaki Mafi

Rebels

The only player to make 15+ carries (18) and 15+ tackle attempts (14/15) in Round 17.

7

Will Miller

Waratahs

Miller made 16/18 tackles, one clean break, and crossed for a try.

6

Luke Jacobson

Chiefs

Made 12 tackles without missing an attempt, scored a try, and gained 39m from eight carries.

5

Rory Arnold

Brumbies

Won a round-high 10 lineouts, made two clean breaks, and scored a try.

4

Guido Petti Pagadizaval

Jaguares

Stole a round-high four lineouts, the most of any player since Sam Whitelock stole four in Round 7, 2013 (also against Stormers).

3

Conraad Van Vuuren

Bulls

Found the tryline once, gained 13m from two carries from which he also managed a clean break.

2

Folau Fainga'a

Brumbies

Made 19 successful throws, five more than any other player in Round 17, and scored a try from his 12 carries.

1

Steven Kitshoff

Stormers

Made 12 carries, the most of any prop for the round, gaining 30m, beating two defenders, and making one clean break.

 

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.