How a school gets its rating
The points-exchange method used for the international rankings, adapted for school rugby. Rugby Ignite is not affiliated with or endorsed by World Rugby.
Every school is measured the same way, from the same starting point. The worked example below is recomputed on every deploy straight from the live calculator, so what you read here always matches the ranking you see on the site.
Is the ranking based on win percentage?
No. Win percentage is shown alongside each team, but the order is set by the rating. Two schools with the same win rate can rank very differently depending on who they played.
Why does beating a higher-rated school matter more?
The method rewards the quality of a result, not just the fact of a win. Points move between the two teams, and how many move depends on the gap between them before kick-off.
What does the rating actually measure?
A school’s strength relative to everyone else. Every school shares one starting baseline, and whatever one side gains in a match the other loses — so the ratings stay anchored to each other over time. It is not a mark out of 100.
Is it official?
No. It is an independent, data-driven record built from real results — not run by any union or governing body. Rugby Ignite is not affiliated with or endorsed by World Rugby.
The score every school starts from before any results are counted — a common starting line so ratings are comparable from day one.
How much a single result can move a rating. A bigger K makes ratings react faster to recent matches; a smaller one keeps them steady. The all-time rating moves more slowly than a single season, which is livelier.
Sets how much the gap between two teams matters before kick-off. It turns the difference in ratings into an expected result, so beating a stronger side is worth more than beating a weaker one.
A comfortable winning margin can earn a little extra, but only past a sensible threshold and with the bonus capped — so a record scoreline nudges the rating without distorting the table.
Beating a much higher-rated school is rewarded above an expected win, because the result tells you more about both teams.
A limit on how far one match can move a rating, so no single result — however unusual — overwhelms a whole season of form.
At the start of each season every school is seeded from its all-time strength, so a new year does not begin from a blank slate.
Re-picked every build, always the latest fixture — so the calculator and the page always agree.