CAPE TOWN - With two dominant performances already in the pocket, Maties will on Monday night look to add a third one when they take on Tuks at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch (7pm kickoff).
In round one, the Stellenbosch-based university thumped the University of Johannesburg 31-3, and hammered the University of the Free State 56-21 last week.
Traditionally, this fixture would be expected to be a tough one, and Maties have done enough - in the form of 11 tries in two games - to imply that they’re on the right path early on.
The fact that Monday night's main fixture is a repeat of last year’s final - in which Tuks beat Maties 28-21 - also provides enough reason to expect a hot contest in the Western Cape.
However, new Tuks coach David Manuel will be keen to add a win with his new team to his resume after two successive defeats - a 19-17 home defeat to Shimlas and a 25-19 loss to Wits in Johannesburg.
And with a new coach, a new captain and a very different team for Tuks, the "Maroon Machine" can be expected to get their third win in a row. But then again, you never know.
In the other match in the Cape, the University of Cape Town will host North-West University at the UCT Rugby Fields (6.30pm kickoff), a match between the fourth -and third teams on the standings respectively, in which Ikeys will look to build on their win against Nelson Mandela University last Monday.
Ikeys lost their tournament-opening game against Wits, before getting the better of Madibaz in Port Elizabeth the following week - a performance characterised by massive outings by their forwards, especially at scrum time.
Pukke, who had a bye last week, got their campaign off to the best possible start with a 70-7 demolition of the Central University of Technology at Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds, running in nine tries to CUT’s one.
In Bloemfontein there will be two matches on Monday night. Shimlas, who are currently sixth on the log, will hunt their second win of the competition after beating Tuks in the first round and coming second against Maties in Stellenbosch last week. They will host Wits in Bloemfontein (6.30pm kickoff), while CUT go up against the Madibaz.
In the other televised game, bottom-of-the-log CUT will continue to look for their first win of the competition when they play Madibaz at 4.45pm (SS1) at CUT Stadium.