The Six Nations has added significance in 2019 with a Rugby World Cup to follow at the end of the year.
All the teams will be hoping to kick start their tournament with a win, but it’s going to be tough for England, who play away to champions Ireland.
Both countries had strong autumn campaigns with Ireland beating the All Blacks in November.
QBE Business Insurance has once again teamed up with Standard Sport to provide predictions for each round of matches every Friday during the Six Nations.
QBE Business Insurance has based its predictions on a complex mathematical formula created by a team of experts whose day job is to help businesses anticipate the likelihood and impact of risks so that they can prepare for and manage them properly.
The computer model has simulated each game 10,000 times with an average score taken to find the final result. Actuaries inputted a wide range of rugby variables including the number of tries, kicks and conversions scored by the teams involved.
The predictor makes Ireland favourites to win the Six Nations with a 42 per cent chance of success. This is opposed to England with a 28 per cent chance, largely based on the forecast that the Irish will win in Dublin tomorrow by a close margin of 20-17.
It was a tight affair the last time the teams met in Dublin in 2017 when the hosts edged it 13-9 to deny Eddie Jones’s men a Grand Slam.
QBE Insurance helps businesses, from start-ups and SMEs to multinationals, to identify, manage and insure their risks. For more information go to qbeeurope.com
