SANZAAR Super Rugby Team of the Week
The Super Rugby Team of the Week has representatives from 10 of the teams again this week after a weekend that saw 397 points and 49 tries scored. The Sharks, Brumbies, Chiefs, Lions and Sunwolves each have two players in the TOTW.
Lions wing Madosh Tambwe was on fire in Johannesburg scoring a first-half hat-trick. He went on to score four tries and run for 122 metres to be the Player of the Week.
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15 |
Jordie Barrett |
Hurricanes |
Made 18 carries, only one player recorded more, for 91m gained, as well as making two clean breaks, an offload, and crossing for a try. |
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14 |
Manasa Mataele |
Crusaders |
Gained 110m from just seven carries, beat eight defenders, made three clean breaks, and made one try assist. |
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13 |
Curtis Rona |
Waratahs |
Beat five defenders, made two clean breaks, and gained 77m from nine carries in a game which saw him cross for a try. |
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12 |
Michael Little |
Sunwolves |
Gained the second-most metres of any player (132m), made two try assists, three clean breaks, and crossed for a try of his own. |
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11 |
Michael Tambwe |
Lions |
Despite being on the pitch for just 53 minutes, Madosh Tambwe crossed for four tries against the Stormers, as well as gaining 122 metres and beating six defenders from just eight carries. |
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10 |
Robert du Preez |
Sharks |
Booted 7/7 goal attempts, made one try assist, and beat four defenders. |
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9 |
Jonathan Ruru |
Blues |
Made 15 tackles, the joint-most of any player not to miss an attempt, beat three defenders, and made two offloads. |
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8 |
Kazuki Himeno |
Sunwolves |
Gained 57m from 11 carries, made nine tackles without miss, three clean breaks, and beat three defenders as well as crossing for a try. |
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7 |
Pieter-Steph du Toit |
Stormers |
Made a round-high 19 carries, beat 10 defenders, made 11/13 tackles and won three lineouts. |
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6 |
Kwagga Smith |
Lions |
Made a round-high 22 tackles (from 26 attempts), five carries for 41m gained, beat four defenders, and scored a try. |
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5 |
Rory Arnold |
Brumbies |
Made two clean breaks from 11 carries, 11/12 tackles, and crossed for a try. |
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4 |
Brodie Retallick |
Chiefs |
Made a joint round-high four offloads, 14 carries for 36m gained, 6/7 tackles and won five lineouts. |
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3 |
Angus Taavao-Matau |
Chiefs |
Made nine carries and 11 of 12 tackle attempts against the Blues. |
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2 |
Folau Fainga’a |
Brumbies |
Won a joint-round-high 10 throws, made 10/13 tackles, and beat two defenders from six carries. |
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1 |
Tendai Mtawarira |
Sharks |
Made nine tackles without a miss, nine carries for 23m gained, and two clean breaks. |
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.
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