Super Rugby Pacific: Shaun Stevenson is BACK at the TOP of the try-scoring charts in this week’s stats round-up

Dylan Coetzee
Super Rugby Pacific: Split with Telea, McKenzie and Stevenson

Following nine rounds of Super Rugby Pacific 2023, Planet Rugby takes a closer look at the players who are key to the exciting rugby on show and who leads the rest in the respective individual statistics category.

Top try scorer

Chiefs superstar Shaun Stevenson has taken his lead back in the try-scoring charts after he crossed for his eighth of the season against the Fijian Drua.

He once again showed his prolific nature and is one of those stars who seem to always be in the right place at the right time.

A healthy reminder that the most tries in a Super Rugby season is 15, and with the competition in round 10 of 15 in the regular season he has a real chance at breaking the record.

Runners-up: Crusader Leicester Fainga’anuku is alongside Reds star Jordan Petaia on seven tries as they did not add to their tallies in round nine. Hooker Ricky Riccitelli shot up the charts and is the highest placed forward on six tries and equal with Blues team-mate Mark Tele and several others.

Top points scorer

The leader of this category is constantly changing, and this week saw Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie snatch the lead back again.

This time with 15 on his back, the All Black was on his game again, adding 15 points to take his season tally to 86, including a try amongst the points scored from the kicking tee.

McKenzie has been sensational throughout the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific and that is why it is no surprise to see him leading the pack.

Runners-up: McKenzie is not alone, as centurion Richie Mo’unga is hot on his tail with 82 points after another solid outing last weekend. Hurricane Jordie Barrett is in third place on 73 points.

Top tackler

Impressively, despite having a week off with his Reds side, Fraser McReight maintains his lead as the competition’s top tackler with 114.

The fact that he still leads the way is impressive in its own right and highlights the cushion his work rate had given him leading into round nine.

Runners-up: Melbourne Rebels skipper Brad Wilkin impressively charged up the leaderboard to 113 tackles after making an impressive 18 hits against the Crusaders. Meanwhile, Tom Christie lurks only four tackles behind the Rebels star.

Top carrier

Just like his good mate Fraser from the Reds, Harry Wilson holds onto the lead in this category with an impressive 115 carries.

That statistic is so impressive considering the Reds have only played eight games this season. This means that Wilson is averaging 14,37 carries a game. That is hugely reliable for any team and is no doubt a key part of the Queenslander’s identity.

Runners-up: It is crazy to see the tireless Blues number eight Hoskins Sotutu a full 17 carries back on 98 in total. The gap between Wilson and Sotutu shows just how much the Wallaby carries every game.

Most defenders beaten

Moana Pasifika had a weekend off in round nine, still, that did not see robust centre Levi Aumua dethroned as he holds on to the top spot with 45 defenders beaten so far this term.

Aumua is a brutal runner and deserves to be on top of the pile. However, things are tightening up at the top.

Runners-up: The elusive Blues and All Blacks wing Telea wedged himself between Aumua and Tomoci Tavatavanawai and has beaten 43 defenders. The Moana Pasifika star is only one behind.

Running metres

Telea may be in second for defenders beaten but leads the way in metres carried with a ridiculous 856 metres gained.

The wing made 87 metres with ball in hand last weekend in the Blues’ solid win against the Waratahs. Now that Telea is on top of the pile he will be very hard to dethrone.

Runners-up: Last week’s leader Tom Wright of the Brumbies drops down to second on 841 metres ahead of Telea’s team-mate Sotutu who is on 748 metres.

Most line-outs won

Brumbies star Nick Frost is still the king of the line-out this week despite having his feet up last weekend.

It is impressive that he still holds the lead in the line-out category and shows how far ahead the Brumbies were with the number of line-outs completed during this campaign.

Runners-up: For the first time in several rounds, the two Brumbies locks – Frost and Cadeyrn Neville – are separated and this time by three stars, with Waratah Jed Holloway, Rebel Josh Canham and Western Force’s Jerry Williams between Frost and Neville in the rankings. Once again, Brodie Retallick is the only New Zealander in the top 10.

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Australia Shaun Stevenson

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