United Rugby Championship Predictions for Week 8
Team Ratings for Week 8
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 | 14.61 | 12.09 | 2.50 |
| Glasgow | 9.50 | 9.39 | 0.10 |
| Bulls | 9.01 | 8.83 | 0.20 |
| Lions | 5.74 | 6.73 | -1.00 |
| Munster | 4.88 | 9.28 | -4.40 |
| Stormers | 3.84 | 6.75 | -2.90 |
| Edinburgh | 2.85 | 0.09 | 2.80 |
| Ulster | 2.28 | 2.52 | -0.20 |
| Cheetahs | 0.80 | 0.80 | 0.00 |
| Sharks | -1.24 | -2.94 | 1.70 |
| Connacht | -1.72 | -0.76 | -1.00 |
| Benetton | -1.76 | 1.02 | -2.80 |
| Ospreys | -4.78 | -2.51 | -2.30 |
| Scarlets | -5.30 | -10.65 | 5.30 |
| Cardiff Rugby | -5.52 | -2.55 | -3.00 |
| Southern Kings | -6.52 | -6.52 | 0.00 |
| Zebre | -13.03 | -16.17 | 3.10 |
| Dragons | -13.64 | -15.41 | 1.80 |
Performance So Far
So far there have been 54 matches played, 39 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 72.2%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.
| Game | Date | Score | Prediction | Correct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow vs. Scarlets | Nov 30 | 17 – 15 | 23.30 | TRUE |
| 2 | Ulster vs. Leinster | Nov 30 | 20 – 27 | -10.60 | TRUE |
| 3 | Sharks vs. Stormers | Dec 01 | 21 – 15 | -4.20 | FALSE |
| 4 | Cardiff Rugby vs. Dragons | Dec 01 | 31 – 23 | 11.40 | TRUE |
| 5 | Connacht vs. Bulls | Dec 01 | 14 – 28 | -3.60 | TRUE |
| 6 | Edinburgh vs. Benetton | Dec 01 | 50 – 33 | 8.20 | TRUE |
| 7 | Munster vs. Lions | Dec 01 | 17 – 10 | 4.00 | TRUE |
| 8 | Zebre vs. Ospreys | Dec 01 | 22 – 17 | -4.90 | FALSE |
Predictions for Week 8
Here are the predictions for Week 8. 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 | Stormers vs. Lions | Dec 21 | Stormers | 0.60 |
| 2 | Benetton vs. Zebre | Dec 22 | Benetton | 13.80 |
| 3 | Leinster vs. Connacht | Dec 22 | Leinster | 18.80 |
| 4 | Ulster vs. Munster | Dec 22 | Munster | -0.10 |
| 5 | Sharks vs. Bulls | Dec 22 | Bulls | -7.80 |
| 6 | Ospreys vs. Scarlets | Dec 22 | Ospreys | 3.00 |
| 7 | Glasgow vs. Edinburgh | Dec 23 | Glasgow | 9.10 |
| 8 | Dragons vs. Cardiff Rugby | Dec 27 | Cardiff Rugby | -5.60 |
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