The Stats Don't Lie: Prop leads try scorers

Sona Taumolola is tied for the leading try scorer in the Super 15 after four rounds. Photo / Getty Images

The Highlanders maintained their grip as leaders of the New Zealand conference beating a gallant Hurricanes side, while the Chiefs kept up their winning record in Tauranga.

Meanwhile the Blues stumbled to yet another loss, the second New Zealand side to lose to the Stormers this season.

CHIEFS v BRUMBIES (29-22)

The closeness of this match showed with neither team leading on the scoreboard for longer than nine minutes at any stage of the game. The scores were also tied at six different times, including the half-time break.

The Brumbies struggled to put together long phases but they did manage ten for Sam Carter's try in the 76th minute of play that, with Christian Lealiifano's sideline conversion, had tied the scores up to 22-all.

Conversely, the Chiefs managed plenty of long periods of possession, with six instances where they went seven phases or longer with the ball. This paid off handsomely when they went 13 phases in the build up to Jackson Willison's winning try in the last minute of the game.

Sonny Bill Williams made five offloads in the tackle and one linebreak.

Brodie Retallick continued his good form with 10 ball carries, two lineout wins, and a steal off the Brumbies.

Prop Sona Taumololo scored his third try of the season, making him top equal try scorer in the competition alongside Bjorn Basson (Bulls) and TJ Perenara (Hurricanes).

This was the third week out of four that Aaron Cruden has landed all of his kicks at goal, with just Round 3 (55 percent) to blot his copy book.

HURRICANES v HIGHLANDERS (17-19)

The Highlanders remain the only unbeaten NZ side with four wins, and join the Stormers as the only two teams yet to have a loss.

It was the 200th Super Rugby match for the Highlanders, and this win was their 93rd.

Andrew Hore continues to impress at the breakdown, winning three turnovers in a match that only saw a total of six breakdown turnovers occur.

However, Hore's lineout throwing was off the mark this week with two not straight and one over-thrown. Of his twelve lineout throws in this game the Highlanders only won seven cleanly.

Adam Thomson was again the Highlanders' main man at the lineout taking seven of their seventeen throws, and stealing one off the Hurricanes.

Jason Eaton was the top tackler in this match with 18, while his fellow lock Jeremy Thrush made 16.

Plenty of ball running from the two Number 8s with Victor Vito making 14 runs for 69 metres, shading Nasi Manu who made 12 runs for 42 metres.

Due to an injury there were two referees in this match, with Bryce Lawrence leaving the field at halftime. While Lawrence penalised the Hurricanes seven times and the Highlanders eight times, in the second half Keith Brown penalised the Hurricanes seven times and the Highlanders just twice.

STORMERS v BLUES (27-17)

The only consistent thing about the Blues' game at the moment is their awful lineout, which this week dropped to a new low of 64 percent.

Ali Williams had a first half he'd rather forget, getting stripped of the ball in his first carry of the game, conceding a penalty for diving off his feet and knocking the ball on from a rebound off the posts from a Stormers' penalty attempt just before halftime.

There was the odd glimpse of hope in the Blues' Capetown performance, such as the fifteen phases they built from a lineout for Benson Stanley's try.

The Blues scored fourteen points in the space of eleven minutes to get within seven points of the Stormers, only to lose the chance of getting at least a bonus point from this game with prop Tevita Mailau conceding his second scrum penalty which the Stormers converted into three points.

Charlie Faumuina was the top tackler for the Blues making 14 tackles, while Daniel Braid made ten.

Braid toiled hard for his pack making six ball carries for 30 metres, one offload in the tackle, and winning two breakdown turnovers.

- For more statistics go to haka.co.nz