September 30, 2026

Rugby Premiership Predictions for Round 2

Team Ratings for Round 2

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
Bath 10.44 9.66 0.80
Leicester Tigers 9.06 9.92 -0.90
Saracens 8.90 8.04 0.90
Northampton Saints 7.72 8.34 -0.60
Exeter Chiefs 4.88 7.58 -2.70
Bristol 1.02 -0.11 1.10
Gloucester -0.75 -3.46 2.70
Sale Sharks -3.44 -2.31 -1.10
Harlequins -4.36 -3.58 -0.80
Newcastle Red Bulls -24.74 -25.37 0.60

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 5 matches played, 2 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 40%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Harlequins vs. Bath Sept 26 17 – 33 -6.20 TRUE
2 Northampton Saints vs. Newcastle Red Bulls Sept 26 59 – 26 40.70 TRUE
3 Exeter Chiefs vs. Gloucester Sept 27 24 – 45 18.00 FALSE
4 Sale Sharks vs. Bristol Sept 27 24 – 34 4.80 FALSE
5 Leicester Tigers vs. Saracens Sept 28 38 – 40 8.90 FALSE

 

Predictions for Round 2

Here are the predictions for Round 2. 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 Bath vs. Exeter Chiefs Oct 03 Bath 12.60
2 Bristol vs. Northampton Saints Oct 04 Bristol 0.30
3 Gloucester vs. Harlequins Oct 04 Gloucester 10.60
4 Newcastle Red Bulls vs. Leicester Tigers Oct 04 Leicester Tigers -26.80
5 Saracens vs. Sale Sharks Oct 05 Saracens 19.30

 

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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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