NPC Players of Round 7 - betcha The Playbook

The road is slowly getting more narrow in the NPC season as teams jostle for table position and look to book their own tickets to the playoffs. With that said, we have just had another outstanding weekend packed with action, and hopefully your provincial side was able to get up after we all took a loss with the All Blacks on Saturday.

As you all know, we like to review the NPC action, and we will do that once again by spotlighting some of the best performances of the week as we continue our betcha player rankings series.

5. Dylan Pledger (1 Point)

Coming into the game as a reasonable underdog, the boys from the far south turned up and handed Taranaki their second consecutive loss in what is becoming a midseason slip they will be eager to stop next time out. As for Otago, they have been one of the more consistent teams in the competition, ensuring that any game they have suited up for has been a well-fought one, which has allowed them to come away with a few wins along the way.

In this game against Taranaki, they got a big boost from their bench, with the experience of players like Liam Coltman and Oliver Haig helping spark their comeback down the stretch. However, the name who makes the list this weekend is making his second appearance of the season, and that is halfback Dylan Pledger.

The recently signed Highlander has been somewhat of a revelation for Otago and has become their talisman throughout the season, thanks to his already savvy skillset from the base of the ruck. During the game against Taranaki, he had his triple threat game on full display, clearing the ruck well, winning his team the aerial battle with his solid kicking, and most of all, showcasing his running and playmaking skills. That included a few line breaks and two try assists.

This performance was another feather in the cap for the starting under-20 halfback, who is seemingly going from strength to strength at the professional level.

4. Jake Heenan (2 Points)

The weekend’s slate started with a hiss and a roar as the Lions’ title defence was in must-win mode just to stay in the hunt for the knockout stages. On Thursday, they travelled up the North Island to take on the Taniwha in what should have been a closely contested match. However, the Lions were no match for the intensity the boys from the far north brought, as they dominated the reigning champions 43-26 in a game where the scoreline likely flatters the losing side.

There were a few names that could have been selected from Northland for this weekend’s top five, but I am going with their tireless openside flanker Jake Heenan, who was the most active player on the park. He made a solid 12 tackles in a performance where his team had a strong majority of the possession, which makes that number all the more impressive. Speaking of that possession, his game-leading three turnovers were a key reason the Taniwha had so much of the pill on Thursday evening.

His immaculate defensive performance was also capped off with a well-earned five-pointer, as he found the chalk for the first time this season.

3. Hoskins Sotutu (3 Points)

Southland have been the darlings of the NPC season so far, a title that was epitomised by their Ranfurly Shield win. However, since then, they have gone on to lose the Shield to Canterbury and were well and truly dispatched this weekend by Counties Manukau. The Steelers poured on 64 points against the Stags, collecting 10 meat pies as a team in what was one of the most emphatic performances I have seen on a rugby field in recent memory.

In that 64-point performance, there were plenty of names that could be highlighted, including Etene Nanai-Seturo, Dalton Papali’i, and Ioane Moananu, who were all phenomenal in their own right. But the player who gets the nod for this weekend’s list is former All Black Hoskins Sotutu, who put on an absolute clinic on Sunday afternoon.

The big No. 8 showed off all the skills that made him such an intriguing prospect when he first burst onto the Super Rugby scene. He was among the leaders in carries, meters made, line breaks, defenders beaten, and offloads, which is an eye-watering list to say the least. To go with his attacking dominance, he also brought a high defensive work rate, leading the game in turnovers, many of which led directly to the possessions that Counties turned into seven-pointers.

2. Fletcher Anderson (4 Points)

Normally, you give the best players of the week to winning sides, but it was tough to leave off a Tasman player after the performance they put together. They travelled south to Christchurch to take on the best side in the tournament so far this season, in Canterbury’s first Shield defence since winning it off the Stags.

It would be easy to point out some of their dynamic backs like Leicester Fainga’anuku and Kyren Taumoefolau, who managed to break the game open multiple times with their dazzling running games. However, as I have already highlighted them a few times this season, I am going to lean toward another loose forward for this one, and that is their man at the base of the scrum, Fletcher Anderson, who was an absolute workhorse.

Just to prove that point, I am going to highlight a few numbers from his performance, starting with his work on defence, where he made 32 tackles on the day, which is an outlandish number. On the attacking side, he also led his Mako side with 17 carries, showing that he gets stuck into a massive volume of work on both sides of the ball. While he wasn’t always bursting through tackles, the fact that he consistently got his side over the gain line and shut down opposition attacks means he put together a stellar performance on Sunday afternoon.

1. Caleb Tangitau (5 Points)

Auckland have finally turned up to the NPC season and are doing it in style, dominating both the Makos and Turbos in back-to-back weeks. Now, it might be too little too late, but the investment in younger players is seemingly paying off for the future of their team.

In their 52-point performance against the Turbos, the key players were their two wingers, Xavier Tito-Harris and Caleb Tangitau, who combined for three tries and carried the ball for nearly 300 meters in total. Their dynamism and ability to break tackles when given any space is rather unique, and the more Auckland got them the ball, the larger their lead grew.

Now, choosing between the two for who the better performer was this weekend is tough, but I am going with Caleb Tangitau. He led the game in tries, meters carried, and defenders beaten. He topped all three categories by flashing his complete modern-day winger skillset. He can burst past defenders with blistering pace and can also run over you in the tight stuff when needed. His performances over the past two weeks, in the team’s only wins, deserve some serious praise, and that is why I have him topping the table this week.

Leaderboard After Round 7 (Top 20)