The Super Rugby Team of the Week has representatives from nine of the teams with the Chiefs and Jaguares leading the way with three players each. The Reds had two representatives as did the Lions.

Mercurial All Black and the Chiefs' Damian McKenzie was Player of the Week after he recorded some pretty impressive match statistics that included two tries and two try assists. 

15

Aidan Toua

Reds

Made 11 kicks in general play, the second most of any player, made 12 carries, beat four defenders and gained 69 metres.

14

Waisake Naholo

Highlanders

Made five tackles without missing, crossed for two tries, made seven carries and finished with two clean breaks.

13

Jack Goodhue

Crusaders

Made 10/11 tackles, beat four defenders from four carries, and crossed for a brace of tries.

12

Bill Meakes

Rebels

Made a round-high five clean breaks and beat the most defenders (8) from his 12 carries; he gained 65m in the process and crossed for a try.

11

Emiliano Boffelli

Jaguares

Made 11 carries for 96m gained, three clean breaks, beat five defenders and bagged two tries.

10

Damian McKenzie

Chiefs

Finished with a haul of 26 points from two tries and eight conversions, made three clean breaks, provided two try assists, and made 10 carries for 74m.

9

Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi

Chiefs

Made a round-high three try assists, as well as two clean breaks and five carries for 54m gained.

8

Javier Ortega Desio

Jaguares

Won four lineouts, gained 81m from nine carries, made three clean breaks, and scored two tries.

7

Jean-Luc du Preez

Sharks

Made 13/14 tackles, 10 carries, four offloads, and one clean break.   

6

Pablo Matera

Jaguares

Made 14 carries, a round-high among forwards, for 77m gained, made three offloads, and a round-high 16 tackles and three turnovers.

5

Tyler Ardron

Chiefs

Gained 124m from just six carries, made three clean breaks, 8/9 tackles, and crossed for a try.

4

Marvin Orie

Lions

Made a joint round-high 16 tackles without missing, nine carries and scored a try as well as winning nine lineouts, three more than any other player.

3

Wilco Louw

Stormers

Made 11 tackles without missing, four carries, and crossed for a try.

2

Malcolm Marx

Lions

Made eight successful lineout throws, losing none, crossed for two tries, made eight tackles without missing and won two turnovers.

1

James Slipper

Reds

Made 9/10 tackles, six carries, and beat two defenders in his 59 minutes on the pitch.

 

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.