Cheetahs vs Dragons
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 49.0%draw 2.5%48.5% DragonsDragons 71.7%draw 2.5%25.8% CheetahsCheetahs 37.3%draw 2.5%60.2% DragonsEach 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 13 Dragons and 24 Cheetahs, with the middle run at level.
Those are gaps rather than scorelines. How much scoring the match produces is drawn separately — between 31 and 73 points in eight runs out of ten — so one bar covers many scores. The middle run above is 20-20 on a tight afternoon and 31-31 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 Dragons.
Cheetahs 1260, Dragons 1369 — 110 points, favouring Dragons
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
Cheetahs2–0–1Dragons3 meetings, 2018 to 2020 · Cheetahs by 11.3 on average
| Date | Match | Competition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-02-29 | Dragons 13–10 Cheetahs | United Rugby Championship | Rodney Parade |
| 2019-04-13 | Cheetahs 38–13 Dragons | United Rugby Championship | Toyota Stadium |
| 2018-03-23 | Dragons 17–29 Cheetahs | United Rugby Championship | Rodney Parade |
None of this feeds the forecast: both ratings already contain these results.