The Team of the Week is dominated by the Highlanders and Sharks following their comprehensive Week #4 wins. They each have four players in the team that has representatives from seven teams in total. The Rebels and Stormers each have two nominated players.

Player of the Week is Sharks winger Makazole Mapimpi who scored two tries, ran for 112 metres and beat seven defenders. 


 

15

Kotaro Matsushima

Sunwolves

Beat five defenders, made one try assist, and gained 83m from 12 carries.

14

Waisake Naholo

Highlanders

Made four clean breaks, beat five defenders, scored one try, and assisted another.

13

Rob Thompson

Highlanders

Made two clean breaks, beat seven defenders, and laid on one try assist.

12

Andre Esterhuizen

Sharks

Made 23 tackles without missing a single attempt, four clean breaks, and three offloads.

11

Makazole Mapimpi

Sharks

Made a round-high five clean breaks, gained 112m from nine carries, and crossed for two tries.

10

Damian Willemse

Stormers

Made 15 carries for 105m gained (1 try), beat seven defenders, and made nine tackles from 11 attempts.

9

Aaron Smith

Highlanders

Crossed for a brace of tries and assisted another, made three clean breaks, and 8/10 tackles.

8

Amanaki Mafi

Rebels

Made 15 carries for 82m gained, 11/13 tackles, as well as assisting one try and scoring another.

7

Kobus van Dyk

Stormers

Made 16 tackles without miss, won a lineout, and made five carries.

6

Liam Squire

Highlanders

Made 12/13 tackles, won three lineouts, and crossed for a try.

5

Lodewyk De Jager

Bulls

Made 19/20 tackles, won four lineouts, and made 10 carries for 15m gained.

4

Matt Philip

Rebels

Won four lineouts, made eight carries for 20m gained, and made 17/19 tackles.

3

Allan Alaalatoa

Brumbies

Made six carries, 7/8 tackles, won a turnover and stole one lineout.

2

Armand van der Merwe

Sharks

Made three clean breaks, beat eight defenders, won 7/7 lineout throws, and crossed for a try.

1

Tendai Mtawarira

Sharks

Made nine tackles without miss, three clean breaks, and 11 carries for 38m gained.

 

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.