Team of the Week: Super Rugby Round #1

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   The Super Rugby Team of the Week has representatives from nine of the teams from a round that produced 41 tries and six away wins.

Standout players were Blues No.8 Akira Ioane and Chiefs centre Anton Lienert-Brown while there were several players who crossed the white line more than once. Chiefs winger Etene Nanai-Seturo, Bulls winger Rosko Speckman and Sharks hooker Armand van der Merwe all scored two tries while Lions flanker Marnus Schoeman scored a hat-trick of tries against the Jaguares. He became the first South African forward to score a hat-trick of tries since Adriaan Strauss in March 2018, as well as making 11/12 tackles and winning two turnovers.

15 Ben Smith Highlanders Made two offloads, beat two defenders, and made 15 carries - the second most of any outside back.
14 Etene Nanai-Seturo Chiefs Crossed for a brace of tries, made 6/6 tackles, and beat three defenders from eight carries.
13 Tevita Kuridrani Brumbies Had a 100% tackle success rate from nine attempts, made two clean breaks and gained 43m from six carries.
12 Anton Lienert-Brown Chiefs Beat 10 defenders and made five offloads, more than any other player in either category; the last time any Chiefs player made more offloads in a Super Rugby game was in May 2015 (6 - Augustine Pulu).
11 Rosko Speckman Bulls Made three clean breaks, beat seven defenders, and crossed for a brace of tries from just five carries.
10 Handre Pollard Bulls Kicked a total of eight goals from as many attempts (4C, 4P), and made a joint round-high 14 kicks in play.
9 Nic Groom Lions Made 7/8 tackles, beat two defenders, and gained 15m from seven carries.
1 Joe Moody Crusaders Made 16 successful tackles, more than any other prop, gained 14m and beat one defender from three carries.
2 Armand van der Merwe Sharks Crossed for a brace of tries, gained 20m from five carries, and was successful with 13/15 throws, the second most of any hooker.
3 Allan Alaalatoa Brumbies Made eight successful tackles from as many attempts, made eight carries for 5m gained, and scored a try.
4 Marvin Orie Lions Made 19 successful tackles, the second most of any player, and won a round-high eight lineouts.
5 Matt Philip Rebels Won five lineouts, including one lineout steal, crossed for a try, and made two clean breaks from seven carries.
6 Marnus Schoeman Lions Became the first South African forward to score a hat-trick of tries since Adriaan Strauss in March 2018, as well as making 11/12 tackles and winning two turnovers.
7 Peter Samu Brumbies Made a round-high four clean breaks, made two offloads, and was successful with 10/10 tackle attempts.
8 Akira Ioane Blues Made a round-high 20 carries, the most by a Blues player since Akira Ioane himself made 21 carries in Round 10, 2018.