June 9, 2026

Rugby Premiership 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
Leicester Tigers 10.81 5.55 5.30
Bath 10.78 10.30 0.50
Saracens 8.02 5.03 3.00
Northampton Saints 7.05 -1.47 8.50
Exeter Chiefs 6.43 -4.58 11.00
Bristol -0.13 3.66 -3.80
Sale Sharks -2.09 6.70 -8.80
Gloucester -3.20 4.13 -7.30
Harlequins -3.75 -3.02 -0.70
Newcastle Red Bulls -26.06 -18.45 -7.60

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 90 matches played, 63 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 70%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Bath vs. Leicester Tigers Jun 07 24 – 22 8.20 TRUE
2 Exeter Chiefs vs. Saracens Jun 07 32 – 12 2.80 TRUE
3 Gloucester vs. Newcastle Red Bulls Jun 07 54 – 21 29.10 TRUE
4 Harlequins vs. Northampton Saints Jun 07 38 – 31 -5.80 FALSE
5 Sale Sharks vs. Bristol Jun 07 38 – 17 2.20 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 Northampton Saints vs. Leicester Tigers Jun 13 Northampton Saints 3.20
2 Bath vs. Exeter Chiefs Jun 14 Bath 11.30

 

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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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