Ranked: The Top Five Individual Performances From The Super Rugby Semi-Finals
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The Crusaders and Jaguares won their Super Rugby semi-finals to set up the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
There were are a number of standout performers this weekend, we picked our Top 5 performances using the stats from the games.
5. Ngani Laumape - Hurricanes
The Hurricanes certainly stepped up to the challenge of facing the Crusaders in Christchurch and almost managed to inflict the first ever home playoff defeat on the Crusaders.
A number of players stood out and produced fantastic stats such as Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Dane Coles and Ardie Savea but Laumape edges his fellow All Blacks to feature in our top five.
Laumape scored a brace, beat three defenders and made 27 running metres. Defensively he missed one tackle and completed an offload.
He also had a moment of brilliance and displayed his understanding of the laws and he tucked his arms behind his back and chested the ball down to score his second try.
So clever from Laumape #CRUvHUR pic.twitter.com/wQ8S5pzuoF
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) June 29, 2019
4. Matias Moroni - Jaguares
Orlando stole the headlines with his performance against the Brumbies but Moroni was just as impressive as his side booked their place in the Super Rugby Final for the first time.
Moroni beat a defender and made metres just about every time he got the ball. He made over 100 running metres beating 5 defenders and made two clean breaks.
His ball handling was outstanding as he cleaned up a number of loose balls for the Jaguares and picked the ball up at pace and sprinted downfield to put Orlando through for one of his tries.
He also made all of his attempted tackles and was excellent throughout.
3. Sevu Reece - Crusaders
Both of the Crusaders' wingers were in fantastic form in their win over the Hurricanes. Reece was involved in all three of the Crusaders' tries, scoring two and assisting another.
His first try came from a great box kick by Bryn Hall that George Bridge claimed in the air before Ryan Crotty sent a cross kick out to the flyer with Reece picking the ball up to score out wide.
His assist came from a nice kick by Mo'unga which Reece picked up on the fly and gave it back inside to his flyhalf to score. His final try came through a nice goose-step that left Beauden Barrett trailing.
Sevu Reece v the Hurricanes 🔥
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) June 29, 2019
0️⃣5️⃣ Carries 🏃
0️⃣2️⃣ Clean breaks 💨
5️⃣5️⃣ Metres⚡️
0️⃣1️⃣ Try assist 🅰️
0️⃣2️⃣ Tries 🏉
0️⃣1️⃣ Outstanding goose step 🤯
Should he be in the All Black squad?🤔
pic.twitter.com/TyQtcDPJ3C
2. Richie Mo'unga - Crusaders
The Crusaders first-five battle with Beauden Barrett was worth the gate entrance in itself. Mo'unga outplayed the incumbent All Black flyhalf in the first half with Barrett standing up in the second half.
Mo'unga's goal kicking proved to be the difference in a tight encounter as he scored 20 of the Crusaders 30 points.
Mo'unga kicked 13 times in open field which caused a number of issues for the Hurricanes back three. He made 96 running metres, second only to George Bridge and beat 5 defenders.
Richie Mo'unga v Hurricanes ⚔
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) July 1, 2019
1️⃣1️⃣ Carries
1️⃣3️⃣ Kicks
0️⃣5️⃣ Defenders beaten
0️⃣2️⃣ Clean breaks
9️⃣6️⃣ Running metres
0️⃣1️⃣ Try
0️⃣6️⃣ Successful kicks
1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ % from the tee pic.twitter.com/oALInSKTra
1. Matias Orlando - Jaguares
A match-winning performance from the Jaguares top scorer this season. Orlando had a near perfect game for the Jaguares as they dispatched the Brumbies in Buenos Aires.
He beat six defenders from seven carries racking up 70 running metres. He also busted through 8 tackles, made three clean breaks and completed an offload.
He was also directly involved in three of the Jaguares five tries, scoring a brace and assisting another.
Matias Orlando v Brumbies 🔥🇦🇷
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) July 1, 2019
7️⃣ Carries
3️⃣ Clean breaks
6️⃣ Defenders beaten
2️⃣ Offloads
7️⃣0️⃣ Running metres
1️⃣0️⃣ Tackles
0️⃣0️⃣ Missed tackles
0️⃣1️⃣ Turnover
0️⃣2️⃣ Tries
0️⃣1️⃣ Try assist
That is some performance in a semifinal 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/YB5eSgIv48