Super Rugby's best and worst - round three

Sonny Bill Williams reacts to the Blues defeat to the Jaguares. Photo / Getty

The winners and losers from the third week of Super Rugby.

Forward of the week:

Dane Coles (Hurricanes)

When hooker Coles is scoring tries like wings in corners, then he's getting back to his best. His spectacular five-pointer against the Brumbies was the second of two tries in Palmerston North. He looks like he's enjoying his rugby after a horror injury stretch. More importantly, he looks very fit in what is a big year.

Back of the week:

Michael Little (Sunwolves)

Kiwi midfielder Little showed the heart of a samurai in leading his side to their historic win over the Chiefs in Hamilton. It wasn't just that he was probably the busiest back on the field, but that he was exactly where he needed to be virtually all the time. If the Sunwolves are everyone's second favourite team (apart from Chiefs' fans), Little must be everyone's second favourite player.

World Cup watch:

Ma'a Nonu (Blues)

After a good performance against the Crusaders, and not being picked against the Sharks last weekend, Nonu was… disappointing against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires. He looked off the pace – probably no surprise given his 36 years – and missed a couple of tackles. Sadly for all those fighting the ravages of time, a trip to Japan looks unlikely for Nonu.

Match reports

Hapless Blues go down in thriller v Jaguares

Sunwolves shock! Chiefs suffer humiliating defeat

18 in a row: Crusaders extend record run

Rebels survive Highlanders comeback to break Kiwi drought

Dane Coles bags a double as Hurricanes humble Brumbies

Ups

Sunwolves: Not only did the Sunwolves claim their first ever win in an away fixture with their victory over the Chiefs in Hamilton, but they did it convincingly. Putting together one of the strongest opening halves of any team this season, the Japanese side showed they're not the easy beats they used to be, with Michael Little and Hayden Parker steering the team to a famous win.

Rebels: The Will Genia-Quade Cooper halves combination is back in full force, and the Melbourne side is benefiting greatly. The pair had a sharp outing to lead the Rebels over the Highlanders to remain unbeaten early in the season. The Rebels have shown they're strong across the park, but their backline in particular is going to cause problems for a lot of teams.

Downs

Chiefs: They've kept their season rolling down the path it started – and that's not a good thing. The Chiefs were abysmal against the Sunwolves and were rightfully dispatched. Conceding 24 turnovers on the night, the Chiefs didn't give themselves much of a chance to compete in front of their home crowd and despite having more of the possession they did little with it. All signs point to a long season for Chiefs fans.

Lions: Are the days of the Lions dominating the South African conference over? It sure looks that way. The perennial contenders seem to have lost their way in the opening stages of the 2019 competition. After what appeared to be a shock loss to the Stormers last weekend, the Lions were cast aside with relative ease by the Bulls. Much like the Chiefs, the Lions' turnover rate was alarming, and missing 22 per cent of your attempted tackles never helps.