The Super Rugby Team of the Week has representatives from 10 of the teams with the Chiefs leading the way with three players, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown and Brodie Rettalick. The Reds had two representatives as did the Lions and Stormers.
The All Black lock Retallick was Player of the Week after he put in a huge shift against the Bulls, that included 12 carries, text book set piece delivery and two tries.
15 |
Damian McKenzie |
Chiefs |
Beat eight defenders, made three offloads, 13 carries, and kicked 11 points against the Bulls. |
14 |
Jack Maddocks |
Rebels |
Made a joint round-high four clean breaks, beat five defenders, gained 98m from 11 carries, and crossed for a try. |
13 |
Anton Lienert-Brown |
Chiefs |
Made a joint round-high four clean breaks, 10/12 tackles, 10 carries, and crossed for a try. |
12 |
Samu Kerevi |
Reds |
Made 12 carries, 10 tackles, beat three defenders, and won one turnover. |
11 |
Hosea Saumaki |
Sunwolves |
Gained a round-high 168m, beat a round-high 11 defenders, and crossed for one try. |
10 |
Bernard Foley |
Waratahs |
Provided one try assist, made 12 carries, and kicked 9/10 goal attempts, scoring a round-high 21 points. |
9 |
Dewaldt Duvenage |
Stormers |
Made two clean breaks, 6/8 tackles, and crossed for a try. |
8 |
Caleb Timu |
Reds |
Made a joint round-high 18 tackles (from 21 attempts), 12 carries for 62m gained, and beat five defenders. |
7 |
Franco Mostert |
Lions |
Stole three lineouts - two more than any other player - made 11 tackles, and gained 59 metres from his eight carries, beating three defenders in the process. |
6 |
Pablo Matera |
Jaguares |
Made a round-high 23 carries - six more than any other player - beating five defenders in the process, while he also made 11/12 tackles. |
5 |
Lodewyk De Jager |
Bulls |
Won a round-high eight lineouts, made 10/12 tackles, and beat two defenders from his seven carries. |
4 |
Brodie Rettalick |
Chiefs |
Made three clean breaks, 12 carries for 59m gained, beat six defenders, and crossed for a brace of tries. |
3 |
Michael Alaalatoa |
Crusaders |
Made 12 carries, seven tackles without missing, and two offloads. |
2 |
Malcolm Marx |
Lions |
Won a round-high 16 lineout throws, maintaining a 100% success rate in the process, made two clean breaks, one try assist, and scored two tries. |
1 |
Steven Kitschoff |
Stormers |
Made 10 carries, seven tackles without missing, and beat five defenders. |
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.