Ben May (Hurricanes)- came off the bench early for Fraser Armstrong and shone with 15 tackles (only missing one) and staying solid in the scrum all afternoon
Dane Coles (Hurricanes)- made 26m from five carries whilst beating four defenders and completing 100% of tackles. His pace as a hooker is frightening.
Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes)- the prop completes the all-Wellington front row with his twelve tackles and solid work rate in the tight areas.
Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)- once again making the team, Whitelock made 8 tackles and missed none, whilst also winning two turnovers for his team.
James Blackwell (Hurricanes)- a huge performance from the lock with 23 tackles (none missed) and three turnovers. Tackle count is the competition’s highest so far.
Shannon Frizell (Highlanders)- arguably player of the round, Frizell made 22 metres, 19 tackles and four turnovers whilst also claiming a try for his troubles.
Tom Christie (Crusaders)- scoring two tries for his side, Christie also made 17 metres and eight tackles. An impactful performance from the Aotearoa debutant.
Whetukamokamo Douglas (Crusaders)- a huge performance from the big 8- making 24m from 12 carries, a line out steal, five tackles and the same number of turnovers (the most in the game).
Aaron Smith (Highlanders)- Smith played incredibly well, making 8 tackles, 29 metres and being heavily involved in the Ngane Punivai try that won try of the week.
Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders)- Mo’unga made seven tackles (missing none), made 25m from nine runs, beat five defenders and had three clean breaks. Also made 35 passes and scored 15 points for his team.
Leicester Fainga’nuku (Crusaders)- the young winger made 41m from 12 carries, beating four defenders and making three clean breaks. An incredibly dangerous looking player for the future.
Ngane Laumape (Hurricanes)- Laumape was solid at 12, making 22m from seven carries, whilst also making 12 tackles.
Jack Goodhue (Crusaders)- made 31 metres from 12 carries and made 8 tackles (missing three). One of the most consistent players in the Crusaders team at the moment.
Will Jordan (Crusaders)- moved onto the wing this week, Jordan didn’t miss a tackle whilst making 66m from 12 runs. Additionally he scored two tries for his team. Another excellent performance from the young wing.
Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes)- Barrett had a huge influence on his team’s performance, making 32m from eight carries, 11 tackles and scoring 10 points (including a monster from 58m). He seemed to be the missing ingredient in the Hurricanes team so far.
