Cheetahs vs Crusaders
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.
Cheetahs 20.7%draw 2.5%76.8% CrusadersCrusaders 80.7%draw 2.5%16.8% CheetahsCheetahs 18.4%draw 2.5%79.1% CrusadersEach 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 Cheetahs wins; the faded bars at each end hold everything beyond 75 points.
Margin percentiles
Eight runs in ten finished between 25 Crusaders and 10 Cheetahs, with the middle run at 6 Crusaders.
Those are gaps rather than scorelines. How much scoring the match produces is drawn separately — between 32 and 74 points in eight runs out of ten — so one bar covers many scores. The middle run above is 24-18 on a tight afternoon and 35-29 on an open one.
Why Cheetahs are not favoured
Starting from an even match and adding what the model reads, in percentage points of win probability. Positive favours Cheetahs, negative favours Crusaders.
Cheetahs 1260, Crusaders 1717 — 457 points, favouring Crusaders
Cheetahs 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
Cheetahs0–0–2Crusaders2 meetings, 2015 to 2017 · Crusaders by 35.0 on average
| Date | Match | Competition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-04-29 | Cheetahs 21–48 Crusaders | Super Rugby | Toyota Stadium |
| 2015-03-21 | Crusaders 57–14 Cheetahs | Super Rugby | Apollo Projects Stadium |
None of this feeds the forecast: both ratings already contain these results.