March 17, 2026

United Rugby Championship Predictions for Week 13

Team Ratings for Week 13

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 9.16 13.41 -4.20
Glasgow 7.63 6.18 1.40
Bulls 7.61 8.86 -1.30
Stormers 6.68 4.17 2.50
Ulster 1.97 -3.24 5.20
Munster 1.90 3.65 -1.80
Lions 0.76 -1.19 2.00
Edinburgh -0.14 2.67 -2.80
Connacht -0.60 -1.39 0.80
Sharks -1.06 1.29 -2.30
Cardiff Rugby -2.00 -2.74 0.70
Scarlets -2.41 -0.54 -1.90
Ospreys -2.46 -2.15 -0.30
Benetton -4.94 -2.32 -2.60
Dragons -10.01 -15.66 5.60
Zebre -12.09 -11.02 -1.10

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 96 matches played, 62 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 64.6%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Edinburgh vs. Ulster Mar 14 19 – 40 7.60 FALSE
2 Connacht vs. Scarlets Mar 14 31 – 14 7.60 TRUE
3 Bulls vs. Stormers Mar 15 19 – 32 4.80 FALSE

 

Predictions for Week 13

Here are the predictions for Week 13. 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. Cardiff Rugby Mar 21 Bulls 16.60
2 Scarlets vs. Zebre Mar 21 Scarlets 16.70
3 Ulster vs. Connacht Mar 21 Ulster 4.60
4 Lions vs. Edinburgh Mar 22 Lions 7.90
5 Benetton vs. Ospreys Mar 22 Benetton 4.50
6 Sharks vs. Munster Mar 22 Sharks 4.00
7 Glasgow vs. Leinster Mar 22 Glasgow 5.50
8 Stormers vs. Dragons Mar 23 Stormers 23.70

 

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.