Cardiff Blues vs Sharks
What the model says about this fixture, at either ground and at a neutral one, with the record behind it. Ratings as at 2026-08-24.
Cardiff Blues 64.1%draw 2.5%33.4% SharksSharks 66.5%draw 2.5%31.0% Cardiff BluesCardiff Blues 47.5%draw 2.5%50.0% SharksEach figure is 5,000 simulations of this fixture. The score is where those runs are centred, not a likely scoreline — a rugby result is spread far too widely for any single one to be likely.
How the runs finished
Winning margin across 5,000 simulations of this fixture. Bars right of the centre are Cardiff Blues wins; the faded bars at each end hold everything beyond 75 points.
Margin percentiles
Eight runs in ten finished between 15 Sharks and 21 Cardiff Blues, with the middle run at 4 Cardiff Blues.
Those are gaps rather than scorelines. How much scoring the match produces is drawn separately — between 30 and 70 points in eight runs out of ten — so one bar covers many scores. The middle run above is 21-17 on a tight afternoon and 32-28 on an open one.
Why Cardiff Blues are favoured
Starting from an even match and adding what the model reads, in percentage points of win probability. Positive favours Cardiff Blues, negative favours Sharks.
Cardiff Blues 1573, Sharks 1613 — 39 points, favouring Sharks
Cardiff Blues are at home
Recent results, head-to-head record and rest days, as the XGBoost heads weigh them. Deliberately capped, so it can nudge the rating but never overrule it.
Head to head
Cardiff Blues3–0–2Sharks5 meetings, 2021 to 2026 · Cardiff Blues by 7.4 on average
| Date | Match | Competition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-27 | Sharks 21–15 Cardiff Blues | United Rugby Championship | Hollywoodbets Kings Park |
| 2025-01-25 | Cardiff Blues 22–42 Sharks | United Rugby Championship | Cardiff Arms Park |
| 2024-05-18 | Sharks 14–36 Cardiff Blues | United Rugby Championship | Hollywoodbets Kings Park |
| 2022-11-27 | Sharks 0–35 Cardiff Blues | United Rugby Championship | Hollywoodbets Kings Park |
| 2021-10-16 | Cardiff Blues 23–17 Sharks | United Rugby Championship | Cardiff Arms Park |
None of this feeds the forecast: both ratings already contain these results.