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How accurate are the United Rugby Championship odds?

The closing prices of 659 finished games since Sat 25 Sep 2021, set against what happened: the chance the market gave, with the bookmakers' margin removed, next to how often it came in. A record of what the market did, not a tip.

The market's record

659 games, 2 bookmakers
  • Closing favourite won 72% 474 of 659 games
  • Market Brier score 0.384 0 is perfect; a coin flip scores 0.667
  • Average closing payout 91.6% 100% minus the bookmakers' margin
  • Games covered 659 Sat 25 Sep 2021 to Sat 10 Oct 2026

56 of the 715 games finished in that time are left out: no bookmaker had a closing price on every outcome.

Market chance against what happened

0-10% chance: happened 3.1% of 717 selections 10-20% chance: happened 11.7% of 163 selections 20-30% chance: happened 24.4% of 168 selections 30-40% chance: happened 32.1% of 156 selections 40-50% chance: happened 48.3% of 143 selections 50-60% chance: happened 54.5% of 154 selections 60-70% chance: happened 68.3% of 161 selections 70-80% chance: happened 75.0% of 140 selections 80-90% chance: happened 89.4% of 142 selections 90-100% chance: happened 97.0% of 33 selections 100% 0%
Market said 0%100%
Happened
Market chancePriceSelectionsMarket saidHappenedDiff
0-10% 10.00 or longer 717 3.9% 3.1% -0.8 pts
10-20% 5.00 to 10.00 163 14.9% 11.7% -3.2 pts
20-30% 3.33 to 5.00 168 25.2% 24.4% -0.8 pts
30-40% 2.50 to 3.33 156 35.1% 32.1% -3.0 pts
40-50% 2.00 to 2.50 143 44.7% 48.3% +3.6 pts
50-60% 1.67 to 2.00 154 55.2% 54.5% -0.7 pts
60-70% 1.43 to 1.67 161 65.1% 68.3% +3.2 pts
70-80% 1.25 to 1.43 140 75.0% 75.0% 0.0 pts
80-90% 1.11 to 1.25 142 85.1% 89.4% +4.3 pts
90-100% 1.11 or shorter 33 91.7% 97.0% +5.3 pts

Every priced outcome of every game is one selection. "Market said" is the bookmakers' average implied probability with the margin removed; "Happened" is how often that outcome came in. On the diagonal the market was right on average; above it, that kind of result happened more often than the prices said. Bands with fewer than 30 selections are left out.

Home, draw and away

OutcomeMarket saidHappenedDiff
Home win 59.4% 63.6% +4.2 pts
Draw 3.8% 3.2% -0.6 pts
Away win 36.8% 33.2% -3.6 pts

The market's average closing chance for each outcome over all 659 games against the share of games it won, settled on the regular-time score. "Home" is the first-named side.

Bookmaker accuracy

lower is better
BookmakerGamesBrier scorevs market averagePayout
Bet365 454 0.379 +0.002 92.1%
Unibet 629 0.381 +0.001 91.3%

Each bookmaker's own closing prices, margin removed, scored against the results of the games it priced; "vs market average" compares it with the bookmakers' average on the same games, so a negative figure means its prices were the closer. Bookmakers with fewer than 50 priced games are left out. Differences of a few thousandths are noise; a much higher score usually means the bookmaker's last price was captured well before the start, so it is the price in our archive being scored, not the trader.

Odds accuracy FAQ

How accurate are United Rugby Championship odds?
Across 659 finished United Rugby Championship games since 2021, the closing favourite won 72% of the time. The market's closing chance, with the bookmakers' margin removed, gave the home side 59.4% on average and home wins happened 63.6% of the time. The bands above show the same comparison price by price: a well-calibrated market has outcomes happening about as often as its prices say.
What is a Brier score?
The squared distance between the chances a bookmaker's prices gave and what happened, averaged over games: 0 would be perfect foresight, and on a three-way market a coin-flip price scores 0.667. The market average's closing prices score 0.384 in this league; the lowest single bookmaker is Bet365 at 0.379. Differences of a few thousandths between bookmakers are noise, not skill.
Does a well-calibrated market mean the odds cannot be beaten?
Calibration says the market is right on average, not on every game. A band where outcomes happened more often than the prices said is where the closing market under-priced that kind of result over these seasons, which is often the draw or the outsider. The bookmaker's margin, about 8.4% here, still has to be cleared: the closing line value calculator shows what a price needs to beat.