Home advantage in southern hemisphere rugby union: national and international

J Sports Sci. 2006 May;24(5):495-9. doi: 10.1080/02640410500189074.

Abstract

This study evaluates home advantages both for national (Super 12) and international (Tri-nations) rugby union teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, over the five-year period 2000 - 2004 using linear modelling. These home advantages are examined for statistical and practical significance, for variability between teams, for stability over time and for inter-correlation. These data reveal that the overall home advantage in elite rugby union has a mean of +6.7 points, and that this changes little from year to year. Closer scrutiny nevertheless reveals a high degree of variability. Different teams can and do have different home advantages, which ranges from a low of -0.7 to a high of +28.3 points in any one year. Furthermore, some team home advantages change up or down from one year to the next, by as much as -36.5 to +31.4 points at the extremes. There is no evidence that the stronger teams have the higher home advantages, or that a high home advantage leads to a superior finishing position in the competition.

MeSH terms

  • Australia
  • Competitive Behavior*
  • Football / psychology
  • Football / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Motivation
  • New Zealand
  • Social Environment*
  • South Africa