Super Rugby Aotearoa round 1 review

Team of the Week

1. Ayden Johnstone (Highlanders)– Impressive in the rolling maul to wear down the Chiefs’ defence, strong in the scrums and no missed tackles. 
2. Ash Dixon (Highlanders)– Captained the winning side with an inspiring performance- 10 tackles made with only 2 missed and 11 lineouts won. He topped it off with a great try from a rolling maul started by his throw. 
3. Ofa Tuungafasi (Blues)- A high-quality performance from the All-Black tighthead with 11 tackles (none missed) and 100% of scrums won (substituted in the 66^th minute). Dominated in the tight five and caused the Hurricanes problems offensively. 
4. Patrick Tuipolutu (Blues)- Another captain who led by example, Tuipolutu made his presence known with big hits and 6 tackles in total. Helped to claim 85% of the lineouts and drove well in the mauls (100% won)
5. Tom Robinson (Blues)- Despite playing six, I have put Robinson in at lock to fit in his back-row teammate. He made 16 tackles and disrupted the ‘Canes lineout- pushing their success rate down to 73%. A highly physical and energetic performance from the Blues forward. 
6. Dalton Papali’i (Blues)- Papali’I came on as a substitute for Blake Gibson in the 30^th minute and was a stand-out player. He made 12 tackles in only 50 minutes, used his size to dominate in contact and dived on a TJ Faiane grubber to score in the second half. 
7. Dillon Hunt (Highlanders)- A huge defensive shift by Hunt, with 19 tackles completed in a gutsy and tight win for his side. Also, a nuisance around the breakdown area, taking advantage of the new stricter laws. 
8. Hoskins Sotutu (Blues)- A monster performance from young Sotutu, with 51 run metres and 12 tackles. Caused many problems for the Hurricanes defence around the scrum with his powerful charges and tackle busts. 
9. Aaron Smith (Highlanders)- Smith showed why he’s still the top 9 in New Zealand with an awe-inspiring performance- vocally making himself known on the pitch whilst consistently delivering crisp ball for his team (54 passes overall).
10. Otere Black (Blues)- Arguably the player of the round, Black embraced the opportunity of starting 10 ahead of Beauden Barrett and delivered a supreme performance. He nailed 100% of his kicks, scoring 15 points for his team and provided quality service for talented players outside him with 18 passes. 
11. Caleb Clarke (Blues)- Clarke was a pain for the Hurricanes defence out wide. He ran 105m- by far the most out of anyone in the game and beat 5 defenders, with 2 clean breaks. Adding to this, he did not miss a tackle and lit up Eden Park with his dazzling try in the 12^th minute- a superb performance. 
12. Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs)- Lienert-Brown was solid at 12 for the Chiefs. He made seven tackles, only missing one and ran 42m, beating 3 defenders. He got his try in the 72^nd minute, finding the space on the ‘Landers left wing. 
13. Rieko Ioane (Blues)- Ioane was exceptional, allowing ball to quickly be played onto the wings whilst moving forward at speed. He gave 9 passes, and ran 52 metres, beating three defenders with ease. 
14. Mark Telea (Blues)-  The other Blues wing claims the 14 spot, with 68 run metres and a massive 10 defenders beaten. Telea made 7 tackles, missing just one and even claimed a try assist with a ‘pop ball’ inside to TJ Faiane to go over. A brilliant performance from the man out wide. 
15. Damian McKenzie (Chiefs)- McKenzie was superb for his side, scoring 17 points and giving 13 passes (including a try assist). He lit up the Chiefs’ backline, running 50 metres and inspiring many attacks. 

* statistics from espn.co.uk