March 4, 2025

United Rugby Championship Predictions for Delayed Games

Team Ratings for Delayed Games

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 13.75 12.09 1.70
Glasgow 8.10 9.39 -1.30
Bulls 7.44 8.83 -1.40
Lions 4.79 6.73 -1.90
Munster 4.39 9.28 -4.90
Stormers 4.23 6.75 -2.50
Edinburgh 1.54 0.09 1.50
Sharks 1.35 -2.94 4.30
Cheetahs 0.80 0.80 0.00
Ospreys -0.01 -2.51 2.50
Ulster -0.55 2.52 -3.10
Connacht -1.62 -0.76 -0.90
Scarlets -3.42 -10.65 7.20
Benetton -3.62 1.02 -4.60
Cardiff Rugby -5.70 -2.55 -3.10
Southern Kings -6.52 -6.52 0.00
Zebre -9.65 -16.17 6.50
Dragons -15.29 -15.41 0.10

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 95 matches played, 69 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 72.6%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Munster vs. Edinburgh Mar 01 28 – 34 10.80 FALSE
2 Zebre vs. Dragons Mar 01 31 – 21 11.50 TRUE
3 Lions vs. Sharks Mar 02 38 – 14 3.00 TRUE
4 Bulls vs. Stormers Mar 02 16 – 19 7.30 FALSE
5 Leinster vs. Cardiff Rugby Mar 02 42 – 24 26.90 TRUE
6 Ulster vs. Scarlets Mar 02 30 – 28 10.20 TRUE
7 Connacht vs. Benetton Mar 02 38 – 30 7.40 TRUE
8 Glasgow vs. Ospreys Mar 02 31 – 32 16.10 FALSE

 

Predictions for Delayed Games

Here are the predictions for Delayed Games. 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 Sharks vs. Lions Mar 09 Lions -0.90

 

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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 »

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