The Team of the Week contains players from nine different teams including four Crusaders and two from each of the Sharks, Stormers and Blues. Week #3 threw up some amazing action with four away teams winning while the Sharks and Waratahs played out the first draw of the season in Durban.

Player of the Week is Cobus Wiese whose work rate against the Crusaders was immense in completing 15 of 16 tackles and winning three turnovers.

15

Melani Nanai

Blues

Gained a round-high 149m from 12 carries, beat six defenders and made three offloads.

14

Jack Maddocks

Rebels

Crossed for a hat-trick of tries, gained 132m from 11 carries, and provided one try assist.

13

Lukhanyo Am

Sharks

Made eight carries for 86m gained, beat four defenders, and crossed for a brace of tries. Also made 4/4 tackles.

12

Handre Pollard

Bulls

Scored one try and assisted another, he also gained 54m from nine carries and beat four defenders.

11

George Bridge

Crusaders

Made three clean breaks, crossed for two tries, and gained 57m from eight carries.

10

Richie Mo'unga

Crusaders

Provided a brace of assists, crossed for a try of his own, made 11 carries, and beat four defenders.

9

Ross Cronje

Lions

Made five kicks in play, six tackles without miss, six carries, and crossed for a try.

8

Taleni Seu

Chiefs

Made five tackles without miss, won four lineouts, made 10 carries, and crossed for a try.

7

Cobus Wiese

Stormers

Made 15 tackles from 16 attempts, 14 carries for 59m gained, 2 clean breaks, 3 turnovers won and 1 try assist.

6

Michael Wells

Waratahs

Won a round high five turnovers, made 16 tackles without miss, and made nine carries for 25m gained.

5

Sam Whitelock

Crusaders

Made a round high 22 tackles from 24 attempts and won six lineouts including two steals.

4

Patrick Tuipulotu

Blues

Won seven lineouts, made seven tackles without miss, one clean break, and one offload.

3

Wilco Louw

Stormers

Made 7 carries for 22m gained and scored one try.

2

Codie Taylor

Crusaders

Made 9/10 tackles, six carries, 1 turnover won and crossed for a try.

1

Tendai Mtawarira

Sharks

Made nine tackles from 10 attempts, 10 carries, and beat one defender.

 

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.