Super Rugby: Team of the Week

Now that the dust has settled in the southern hemisphere, we look at the players who stole the show in Round 17 of Super Rugby.

Now that the dust has settled in the southern hemisphere, Planet Rugby looks at the players who stole the show in Round 17 of Super Rugby.

15 Charles Piutau (Blues): Rose to the challenge and was a shining light in what has been an otherwise gloomy Blues season. The promising youngster was electric on debut and bagged a try for his efforts. Makes you wonder why he wasn't picked from the start!

14 JP Pietersen (Sharks): Transfered his form for the Springboks during the June Tests over to the Sharks, in what was another impressive display out wide from the speedster who also got himself on the scoresheet. He can do nothing wrong at the moment.

13 Waylon Murray (Lions): It's been a while since we had a Lion in our XV, but it was pretty hard to leave out the former Bok who showed glimpses of why he was once hailed as a star of the future. He also crossed the chalk in the second minute of the match.

12 Ma'a Nonu (Blues): The All Blacks centre was hungry for work after enjoying a break away from the game and finally gave the Blues' faithful fans reason to cheer with a barnstorming performance that also resulted in his 100th first class try.

11 Zac Guildford (Crusaders): There weren't many stand-out left wingers in the penultimate round, but if we were pushed for a choice then it has to be the in-form Crusaders' flyer who was a menace – not only out wide, but all over the pitch.

10 Frédéric Michalak (Sharks): Arguably his best performance in a black jersey since joining the Super Rugby franchise, the French international razzled and dazzled with ball in hand, never took a step back on defence and was instrumental with the boot.

9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs): Aaron Smith may be the talk of the town at the moment, but the Chiefs scrum-half reminded us why he was selected in the All Blacks squad after producing a performance out of the top drawer.

8 Ryan Kankowski (Sharks): He has his critics, but Kankow showed he's still a major force on the big stage and shouldn't be written off for Test duty in the upcoming Rugby Championship after producing a memorable man-of-the-match performance. Wonderful to watch – if you were a Sharks fan or not!

7 Richie McCaw (Crusaders): Led from the front in what was a crucial victory for his team over the Chiefs. In a match when it was needed most, McCaw's all-round influence was evident from start to finish.

6 Derick Minnie (Lions): What's this? Another Lion! It's going to snow! The loose forward got his claws stuck into the Rebels from the outset and put his team into the fast lane with a brace of tries in the first half.

5 Hugh Pyle (Rebels): A towering presence at Coca-Cola Park, Pyle bagged a brace to bring his side back into the game when they were hanging on the ropes at half-time against the Lions.

4 Luke Romano (Crusaders): The line-out proved to be a major Achilles heel for the Chiefs, as they lost at least eight of their own throw-ins – most of them to this guy, who proved to have an eye for the tryline as well.

3 James Slipper (Reds): The Reds needed a big performance to keep their hopes alive and the sight of Slipper coming in to land like a 747 for what proved to be a crucial try had the Brisbane faithful believing a title defence is still possible.

2 Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks): A brutal display from the Sharks rake who was gladiatorial on and attack and defence, knocking ball-carriers back as he tackled the pride of Pretoria into submission.

1 Sona Taumalolo (Chiefs): What is the world coming to? Props aren't supposed to sprint clear like that! For once the Perpignan-bound loosehead didn't score a try but he made a few Crusaders blush with his turn of speed!

Compiled by Dave Morris