June 11, 2024

United Rugby Championship 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
Leinster 12.71 10.73 2.00
Munster 10.74 10.54 0.20
Bulls 10.11 9.00 1.10
Glasgow 6.94 4.19 2.70
Stormers 6.83 8.93 -2.10
Lions 6.20 -4.26 10.50
Ulster 2.58 7.80 -5.20
Benetton -0.09 -5.12 5.00
Edinburgh -0.60 -2.26 1.70
Connacht -1.10 3.17 -4.30
Cardiff Rugby -2.75 -5.16 2.40
Sharks -3.31 0.85 -4.20
Ospreys -3.65 -7.79 4.10
Scarlets -11.01 -2.23 -8.80
Dragons -15.77 -8.14 -7.60
Zebre -17.83 -20.25 2.40

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 148 matches played, 106 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 71.6%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Munster vs. Ospreys Jun 08 23 – 7 19.00 TRUE
2 Bulls vs. Benetton Jun 09 30 – 23 15.60 TRUE
3 Leinster vs. Ulster Jun 09 43 – 20 10.10 TRUE
4 Glasgow vs. Stormers Jun 09 27 – 10 1.80 TRUE

 

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 Bulls vs. Leinster Jun 16 Bulls 1.40
2 Munster vs. Glasgow Jun 16 Munster 7.80

 

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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 »