The last few years haven't exactly been the greatest for Maties in the Varsity Cup.
But, after new coach Hawies Fourie led them to a 40-0 over the Central University of Technology (CUT) in their first match of the 2016 edition, the students from Stellenbosch look like they will be back contesting for the title.
With a strong pack setting the tone, Maties have a lot more firepower this year to end their five-year trophy drought since winning the competition three times in a row between 2008 and 2010.
Meanwhile, the UCT Ikeys will be looking to bounce back against CUT tonight after losing their match against the Shimlas last week. The Cape side beat CUT 90-8 last year.
CAPE VARSITY TEAMS
Maties team for Port Elizabeth:15 Craig Barry, 14 Brandon Asher-Wood, 13 Paul Streicher, 12 Braam Venter, 11 Duncan Saal, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Remu Malan, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Janco Venter, 6 Beyers de Villiers 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Ian Groenwald, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 Craig Corbett, 1 Wesley Adonis. Bench: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Niel Oelofse, 18 Geor Malan, 19 Conal Brown, 20 Brendon Nel, 21 Chris Smit, 22 Edwil van der Merwe, 23 JE van der Merwe.
Ikeys team for Bloemfontein:15 Joel Smith, 14 Nathan Nel, 13 Xoli Lihleli, 12 Hendrik Lategan, 11 Chibale Suwilanji, 10 Rob Anderson, 9 Dylan Tidbury, 8 Guy Alexander (C), 7 Luke Stringer, 6 Jason Klassen, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Mark Prior, 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Brenton Greaves, 1 Joel Carew. Bench: 16 Keagan Timm, 17 Msizi Zondi, 18 Hugo Olwethu, 19 Nyasha Tarusenga, 20 Steven Wallace, 21 Hilio De Abreu, 22 Gerard Pieterse, 23 Sam Theron.
UWC team for Pretoria:15 Darian Hock, 14 Minenhle Mthethwa, 13 Courtney Cupido, 12 Ruan Mostert, 11 Byron Burgess, 10 Melikhaya Aubrey Wana, 9 Clayton Daniels, 8 Jose Julies, 7 Matthew Le Roux, 6 Philbrey Joseph, 5 Brandon Valentyn, 4 Stuart Austin, 3 Kelvin De Bruyn, 2 Peter Karia Wanjiru, 1 Wayron Losper. Bench: 16 Brandon-Lee Beukman, 17 Robin Paulse, 18 Matthew Faught, 19 Jeremy Papier, 20 Matthew Nortjie, 21 Dean Herbert, 22 Mogamat Yaasien Railoun, 23 Tahriq Allen. - Cape Times