April 22, 2025

United Rugby Championship Predictions for Week 16

Team Ratings for Week 16

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 13.93 12.09 1.80
Bulls 9.42 8.83 0.60
Glasgow 8.91 9.39 -0.50
Munster 4.78 9.28 -4.50
Stormers 4.04 6.75 -2.70
Sharks 1.94 -2.94 4.90
Edinburgh 1.30 0.09 1.20
Cheetahs 0.80 0.80 0.00
Lions -0.12 6.73 -6.80
Connacht -0.68 -0.76 0.10
Ulster -1.45 2.52 -4.00
Benetton -2.48 1.02 -3.50
Cardiff Rugby -2.69 -2.55 -0.10
Ospreys -3.24 -2.51 -0.70
Scarlets -3.45 -10.65 7.20
Southern Kings -6.52 -6.52 0.00
Zebre -9.11 -16.17 7.10
Dragons -15.39 -15.41 0.00

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 120 matches played, 85 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 70.8%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Edinburgh vs. Sharks Apr 19 17 – 18 6.50 FALSE
2 Lions vs. Benetton Apr 19 31 – 42 10.90 FALSE
3 Ospreys vs. Cardiff Rugby Apr 20 19 – 36 5.00 FALSE
4 Stormers vs. Connacht Apr 20 34 – 29 11.70 TRUE
5 Munster vs. Bulls Apr 20 13 – 16 1.90 FALSE
6 Dragons vs. Scarlets Apr 20 23 – 31 -9.80 TRUE
7 Leinster vs. Ulster Apr 20 41 – 17 16.10 TRUE
8 Zebre vs. Glasgow Apr 20 6 – 14 -13.80 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 16

Here are the predictions for Week 16. 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 Cardiff Rugby vs. Munster Apr 26 Munster -2.00
2 Glasgow vs. Bulls Apr 26 Glasgow 5.00
3 Lions vs. Connacht Apr 27 Lions 6.10
4 Ospreys vs. Dragons Apr 27 Ospreys 14.70
5 Scarlets vs. Leinster Apr 27 Leinster -11.90
6 Stormers vs. Benetton Apr 27 Stormers 12.00
7 Ulster vs. Sharks Apr 27 Ulster 2.10
8 Zebre vs. Edinburgh Apr 27 Edinburgh -4.90

 

avatar

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 »

Add a comment

First time commenting? Please use your real first name and surname and read the Comment Policy.