The Team of the Week contains players from nine different teams including four Sunwolves, two Waratahs and the lock pairing, Snyman and de Jager, from the Bulls. Player of the Week is Lions flyer Aphiwe Dyantyi.

In just his second match in Super Rugby Dyantyi scored two tries, made five clean breaks and ran for 158 metres.

15

Dane Haylett-Petty

Rebels

Gained 146m (2nd most) from 13 carries and crossed for a brace of tries.

14

Hosea Saumaki

Sunwolves

Made more carries (16) than any other outside back, gained 111m, scored two tries thanks to 5 clean breaks and 7 defenders beaten.

13

Timothy Lafaele

Sunwolves

Made 17/17 tackles, more than any other back, made two clean breaks, and crossed for a try.

12

Teihorangi Walden

Highlanders

Made three clean breaks, scored two tries, and made 7/9 tackles.

11

Aphiwe Dyantyi

Lions

Scored two tries, assisted another, achieved round-high figures for metres made (158), defenders beaten (11) and clean breaks (5).

10

Bernard Foley

Waratahs

Kicked six goals from six attempts, made 16 carries and provided a try assist.

9

Will Genia

Rebels

Made 3 try assists, managed 40m from 6 carries, and beat 3 defenders.

8

Akira Ioane

Blues

Scored a brace of tries, made 51m from 9 carries, also won 3 lineouts.

7

Pieter Labuschagne

Sunwolves

Made a round-high 22 tackles without missing a single one, also making 10 carries and one offload and winning three turnovers.

6

Kazuki Himeno

Sunwolves

Made 16 tackles without miss, beat four defenders, and gained 19m from nine carries.

5

Lodewyk De Jager

Bulls

Won 13 lineouts (inc. 1 steal), 6 more than any other player, crossed for a try, and gained 45m from 13 carries thanks to 3 clean breaks, also made 7/7 tackles.

4

RG Snyman

Bulls

Gained 82m, more than any other forward, beat four defenders, registered a try assist and won a turnover.

3

Allan Alaalatoa

Brumbies

Made eight tackles without missing a single attempt, and also made 12 carries, the most by any prop for the round.

2

Damien Fitzpatrick

Waratahs

Won 9/9 throws, made 9/10 tackles, made 2 clean breaks and scored a try.

1

Steven Kitschoff

Stormers

Made 10 carries, four tackles without miss, and bagged 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.