March 22, 2022

United Rugby Championship Predictions for Week 20

Team Ratings for Week 20

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
Leinster 15.15 14.79 0.40
Munster 10.44 10.69 -0.20
Ulster 9.37 7.41 2.00
Stormers 5.42 0.00 5.40
Bulls 4.95 3.65 1.30
Edinburgh 4.56 2.90 1.70
Glasgow 3.91 3.69 0.20
Sharks 3.64 -0.07 3.70
Connacht 0.19 1.72 -1.50
Ospreys -0.86 0.94 -1.80
Lions -2.31 -3.91 1.60
Scarlets -2.88 -0.77 -2.10
Cardiff Rugby -3.74 -0.11 -3.60
Benetton -5.26 -4.50 -0.80
Dragons -8.48 -6.92 -1.60
Zebre -18.08 -13.47 -4.60

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 96 matches played, 69 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 71.9%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Bulls vs. Scarlets Mar 19 57 – 12 11.30 TRUE
2 Glasgow vs. Edinburgh Mar 19 30 – 17 3.20 TRUE
3 Sharks vs. Zebre Mar 20 38 – 6 27.40 TRUE
4 Lions vs. Munster Mar 20 23 – 21 -7.30 FALSE
5 Stormers vs. Cardiff Rugby Mar 21 40 – 3 13.40 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 20

Here are the predictions for Week 20. 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 Lions vs. Ospreys Mar 26 Lions 5.00
2 Munster vs. Benetton Mar 26 Munster 22.20
3 Stormers vs. Ulster Mar 27 Stormers 2.50
4 Zebre vs. Scarlets Mar 27 Scarlets -8.70
5 Sharks vs. Edinburgh Mar 27 Sharks 5.60
6 Bulls vs. Dragons Mar 27 Bulls 19.90
7 Cardiff Rugby vs. Glasgow Mar 27 Glasgow -1.20
8 Connacht vs. Leinster Mar 27 Leinster -10.00

 

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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 »