The stats don't lie: Week 11 review

Ben Smith was the pick of the Highlanders' backline with two of those breaks coming from deep in his own half. Photo / Getty Images

The Blues continued on their winning way against the Highlanders and now lead the overall points table thanks to the Hurricanes upsetting the Reds, the Crusaders got back on course with win over the Force, while the Chiefs continued their hoodoo in Pretoria losing to the Bulls.

HIGHLANDERS v BLUES (10-15)

- Only two players scored points in this game (Robbie Robinson and Luke McAlister), and it was the first game this year that the Blues have failed to score a try.

- While the Blues had most of the possession in this game it was the Highlanders who made the most linebreaks with a total of nine, while this week the Blues could only manage three from their star-studded backline.

- Ben Smith and Kade Poki each made three linebreaks in this game, and Smith was the pick of the Highlanders' backline with two of those breaks coming from deep in his own half.

- Lineouts were keenly contested by both teams, the Highlanders won six from their eight throws while the Blues won from fourteen from their nineteen. Ali Williams was the stand-out lock winning all seven of his throws and stealing one off the Highlanders.

- The Highlanders may have lost the game, but they won the battle of the breakdown winning ball off the Blues on seven occasions with their strong counter-rucking. The Blues only turned the Highlanders over once.

- The Blues only conceded eight penalties in this game, all but one at the breakdown. The Highlanders conceded fourteen penalties plus a yellow card when Aaron Smith was ruled to have not brought a player down safely in the tackle.

- Handling errors aplenty in this game with both sides conceding eight knock-ons while the Highlanders also threw a foward pass.

- Luke McAlister kicked five from six penalties in the second half before leaving the field injured, but it was enough to give his side the win. The Blues now not only lead the NZ conference but are in first place overall.

HURRICANES v REDS (28-26)

- In somewhat of an upset, the previously faltering Hurricanes beat the high performing Reds with a last minute penalty goal from Aaron Cruden after having blown a 22-5 lead at halftime.

- The Hurricanes netted four tries in the first half, with three coming in the space of just eight minutes shortly before half time to earn themselves the bonus point.

- Top linebreaker was Hosea Gear with three, followed by Aaron Cruden with two.

- Handling errors (seven) and breakdown turnovers conceded (five) threatened to derail the Hurricanes at times in this game.

- With possession shared equally the Reds clawed themselves back into the game in the second half and took the lead with eight minutes left to play before conceding a penalty in the last minute of the game. Cruden, who had only landed two from six kicks up to this point, slotted the 35m penalty to win the game for the Hurricanes.

- Despite Quade Cooper landing three penalty goals for the Reds, the Hurricanes' defence was much improved this week conceding just eight penalties in total.

FORCE v CRUSADERS (30-42)

- The Crusaders bounced back from their loss last week and scored a bonus point victory over the Force to maintain their second placing in the NZ conference and move up to fourth on the overall table.

- There were five linebreaks made by the Crusaders' back three, with Israel Dagg starring with two linebreaks and two tries.

- The Crusaders dominated the breakdown winning nine turnovers, with Matt Todd again to the fore this week out-gunning David Pocock with two breakdown turnovers.

- Richie McCaw suffered the ignomany of a yellow card for repeated infringements at the breakdown and had a 10 minute spell on the sideline in the 47th minute of the game. During this time the Force kicked a penalty and scored a converted try to grab the lead 30-25.

- The Crusaders won the sole tight-head of the game, and from this Cory Flynn scored a try to give the Crusaders the lead back with eight minutes to play. A try to Kahn Fotuali'i followed three minutes later to make the game safe and deny the Force a bonus point.

BULLS v CHIEFS (43-27)

- The Chiefs were up 20-3 after 30 minutes of play but imploded in the second half, and not only failed to score for another 39 minutes but allowed the Bulls to run in four tries in a thirteen minute spell to find themselves 20-34 down in the 47th minute of the match.

- The Chiefs' lineout struggled against Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha, only winning six from their fifteen throws. Hika Elliot did not have a vintage night with his throwing with two overthrown balls and one that didn't travel five metres.

- Plenty of linebreaks by the Chiefs (nine in total) but handling errors (six knock ons) ruined any further scoring chances.

- The Chiefs conceded 10 penalties (including a yellow card to Ben Afeaki for lifting in the tackle in the seventh minute of the game).

- The Bulls got their rolling mauls going in the second half and the Chiefs struggled to counter them, conceding two penalties in the process.

- The Chiefs managed to string twelve phases together in the last minutes of the game but came up just short of securing a bonus point missing out on a fourth try when Isaac Ross was ruled to have been held up over the line.

Further NZ player stats can be found at Haka.co.nz