I have been looking at performance against previous year’s ranking in rugby union and rugby league.
In the charts that follow, the green (win) and blue (lose) boxes indicate that teams conform with their previous year’s ranking, gold (win) and red (lose) indicate unexpected result based on the previous year.
In all examples shared, visually the expectation is that the bottom half of the table is predominantly blue and the top half green. It is interesting note how different the Top 14 Orange matrix is. Lower ranked teams win at home on a regular basis.
Super 15 Rugby Union (after 4 weeks)
Aviva Premiership Rugby Union (17 Rounds)
Greene King Championship Rugby Union (17 Rounds)
Top 14 Orange Rugby Union (19 Rounds)