May 21, 2019

Rugby Premiership Predictions for the Semi-finals

Team Ratings for the Semi-finals

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Saracens 10.55 11.19 -0.60
Exeter Chiefs 9.55 11.13 -1.60
Northampton Saints 4.94 3.42 1.50
Gloucester Rugby 3.82 1.23 2.60
Bath Rugby 3.47 3.11 0.40
Harlequins 2.39 2.05 0.30
Wasps 1.76 8.30 -6.50
Sale Sharks 1.56 -0.81 2.40
Leicester Tigers -0.33 6.26 -6.60
Worcester Warriors -1.28 -5.18 3.90
Bristol -1.29 -5.60 4.30
Newcastle Falcons -3.55 -3.51 -0.00

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 132 matches played, 89 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 67.4%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Exeter Chiefs vs. Northampton Saints May 18 40 – 21 9.10 TRUE
2 Leicester Tigers vs. Bath Rugby May 18 31 – 32 2.30 FALSE
3 Newcastle Falcons vs. Bristol May 18 12 – 19 4.40 FALSE
4 Sale Sharks vs. Gloucester Rugby May 18 46 – 41 2.90 TRUE
5 Wasps vs. Harlequins May 18 27 – 25 5.50 TRUE
6 Worcester Warriors vs. Saracens May 18 31 – 29 -7.30 FALSE

 

Predictions for the Semi-finals

Here are the predictions for the Semi-finals. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Saracens vs. Gloucester Rugby May 26 Saracens 12.20
2 Exeter Chiefs vs. Northampton Saints May 26 Exeter Chiefs 10.10

 

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David Scott obtained a BA and PhD from the Australian National University and then commenced his university teaching career at La Trobe University in 1972. He has taught at La Trobe University, the University of Sheffield, Bond University and Colorado State University, joining the University of Auckland, based at Tamaki Campus, in mid-1995. He has been Head of Department at La Trobe University, Acting Dean and Associate Dean (Academic) at Bond University, and Associate Director of the Centre for Quality Management and Data Analysis at Bond University with responsibility for Short Courses. He was Head of the Department of Statistics in 2000, and is a past President of the New Zealand Statistical Assocation. See all posts by David Scott »