November 14, 2023

United Rugby Championship Predictions for Week 5

Team Ratings for Week 5

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 9.84 10.73 -0.90
Bulls 9.69 9.00 0.70
Munster 9.58 10.54 -1.00
Stormers 8.36 8.93 -0.60
Ulster 7.38 7.80 -0.40
Glasgow 5.87 4.19 1.70
Connacht 3.16 3.17 -0.00
Edinburgh -1.25 -2.26 1.00
Sharks -2.27 0.85 -3.10
Benetton -2.65 -5.12 2.50
Lions -2.98 -4.26 1.30
Cardiff Rugby -4.97 -5.16 0.20
Scarlets -5.94 -2.23 -3.70
Ospreys -6.65 -7.79 1.10
Dragons -10.40 -8.14 -2.30
Zebre -16.76 -20.25 3.50

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 32 matches played, 20 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 62.5%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Zebre vs. Sharks Nov 11 12 – 10 -12.70 FALSE
2 Cardiff Rugby vs. Bulls Nov 11 12 – 18 -11.80 TRUE
3 Ulster vs. Munster Nov 11 21 – 14 -1.60 FALSE
4 Benetton vs. Stormers Nov 12 20 – 17 -8.90 FALSE
5 Ospreys vs. Glasgow Nov 12 23 – 31 -8.70 TRUE
6 Scarlets vs. Lions Nov 12 23 – 24 1.50 FALSE
7 Edinburgh vs. Connacht Nov 12 25 – 22 -1.30 FALSE
8 Dragons vs. Leinster Nov 12 10 – 33 -14.90 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 5

Here are the predictions for Week 5. 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 Edinburgh vs. Bulls Nov 18 Bulls -6.90
2 Ulster vs. Lions Nov 18 Ulster 14.40
3 Zebre vs. Cardiff Rugby Nov 18 Cardiff Rugby -7.80
4 Sharks vs. Connacht Nov 19 Connacht -1.40
5 Dragons vs. Ospreys Nov 19 Ospreys -1.80
6 Munster vs. Stormers Nov 19 Munster 5.20
7 Glasgow vs. Benetton Nov 19 Glasgow 12.50
8 Leinster vs. Scarlets Nov 19 Leinster 19.80

 

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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 »