4. Alan Wyn Jones (British & Irish Lions) put forward two strong cases in Christchurch. The first was reinforcing his claim for one of the starting lock positions in the first test, which one suspects he was odds on to get anyway. But the second is a compelling argument for Jones to be captain in that very same game, should tour captain Sam Warburton not reach the necessary form to win the starting openside spot ahead of Justin Tipuric or Sean O'Brien - Forward of the Week
5. In the absence of Fatialofa and Abbott, Vaea Fifita (Hurricanes) has stepped up his game in his less favoured position of lock. Got through plenty of work in a losing effort on Friday night and appears to be thriving as the senior lock in the tandem he's formed with Sam Lousi.
6. Akira Ioane (Blues) was at the heart of everything on Tuesday night, including some needless niggle & banter. His work-rate, with or without the ball, was tireless, athletic and muscular against a Lions loose forwards trio that brought the same attributes to their game. 14 tackles, 11 carries for 54 metres, 2 line breaks, 3 defenders beaten and 2 lineouts won are good all round numbers for a player who is staying more connected to the games than previously.
7. On Saturday night, Sean O'Brien (British & Irish Lions) gave Warren Gatland a massive selection quandary because, as he invariably does, the magnificently nicknamed "Tullow Tank" ploughed his way through a rugged contest, never stopping from first whistle to last. Having had one look at each of the Lions starting openside choices, O'Brien's been the best, which creates a dilemma when one of the other options is your tour captain.
8. If you are a young number eight, you were blessed with three superb performances this week and from watching Steven Luatua (Blues), CJ Stander & Taulupe Faletau (both British & Irish Lions) you would have learned something different about the position you play as well as having two key attributes required reinforced - you have got to be physical and you have to have a massive appetite for work.
9. Conor Murray's (British & Irish Lions) kicking game was absolutely exquisite. It wasn't just the pin point accuracy and the weighting of the kicks, but he executes them so rapidly. I'd love that sport science dude on ESPN to break down how long it takes from the time Murray puts his hands on the ball to the moment it leaves his foot - if it's more than a second I'll go hee. His passing, option taking and defensive work was top drawer as well - Back of the Week
10. Owen Farrell (British & Irish Lions) in tandem with Murray controlled that game like they had been playing together for years. That combined tactical nous will be key come the test series, as will Farrell's physical toughness and accuracy in everything that he does on a rugby field.
11. Rieko Ioane (Blues) showed that while he is still a very young man in both years and top level rugby experience, he is well and truly ready if All Black coach Steve Hansen chooses to utilise him in the test series. He made it over the try line on four separate occasions, though only once to earn five points, showing power and pace on attack while without the ball he was equally powerful and accurate.
12. After a couple of ropey outings following his lengthy injury lay off, Sonny Bill Williams (Blues) showed against the Chiefs that he was quickly getting up to speed and against the British and Irish Lions, showed that he nearly all the way back as he stepped up on the big stage. Williams was rock solid and intelligent on defence whilst on attack, he carried the ball powerfully and made great offloading decisions. Like SBW, Charlie Ngatai (Chiefs) was impressive in the second game of his stop/start return to play.
13. Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs) played like an All Black incumbent against the Hurricanes. He made tackles, he made metres and that all contributed to ALB making a significant contribution to a vital Super Rugby win for the Chiefs.
14. George North (British & Irish Lions) didn't see a whole of the ball but, as the great players do, he made the few touches he got count and, more importantly for his side, chased the pin point box kicking of Murray with gusto and delivered some stinging shots in defence.
15. Michael Collins (Blues) handled with the Lions kicking game with a combination of excellent positional play and great high ball technique. He also returned some of those kick for good territorial gains and was sound on defence as well.
** Statistics via the NZ Herald Stat Centre **
NIGEL YALDEN IS THE RUGBY EDITOR FOR RADIO SPORT & NEWSTALK ZB
