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 |