Mondays once again became something to look forward to as the Varsity Cup is set to excite and entertain with some great fixtures scheduled.
FNB CUT Madibaz will host FNB CUT Ixias in Gqeberha @ 17h00.
Both teams will be desperate for their first win of the season, however, one has to make CUT Ixias the favourites.
The supporters and the Madibaz will know by now that they will be relegated to the Varsity Shield competition at the end of the 2022 Competition.
The Madibaz will play for pride and passion and the way they played against Tuks at home should be a warning to the Bloemfontein boytjies. However, I can not see them securing their first win for the year.
The Ixias is also looking for their first win and suffered quite a big loss against the Shimlas last Monday (27-48) although they are not yet in danger of being relegated wins for UJ, UWC and/or Wits could change the situation drastically.
FNB NWU Eagles vs FNB UP-Tuks in Potchefstroom @ 19h00.
The Eagles suffered a surprising loss (35-14) against UJ at a wet UJ Stadium in Johannesburg last Monday and will want to get their season back on track against an also "not so impressive" UP-Tuks team.
UP-Tuks have only lost to Maties (09-19) in Round 1, struggled against Madibaz (22-06) and narrowly defeated Ikeys (38-30) in Round 3. Tuks "struggle" with their decision making on the field and this make them beatable.
However, NWU Eagles do struggle in the second half and therefore TUKS who normally ends well should be the favourites on Monday evening but do expect a physical battle with the result only decided on late in the second half.
We Discuss Round 4 Varsity Cup
FNB Wits vs FNB UFS Shimlas in Johannesburg @ 19h00.
This will be Wits biggest test this season as they host the unbeaten and current log leaders Shimlas at home. Shimlas has shown that they play a 15 man style of rugby and possess of a lot of speed on the outside.
The fighting spirit of Wits should make this an exciting game with the inclusion of Phillip Krause at eight and moving Cal Smid to lock is a sure sign that Wits is also looking to speed up the game. However, Shimlas should extend their unbeaten streak.
FNB UCT Ikeys vs FNB UWC in Cape Town @ 19h00.
FNB Ikeys is the overwhelming favourites to win this game with relative ease. Although UWC "surprised" some with the ease they have beaten Madibaz (60-26) they still have a long way to be a threat to the top teams in the Varsity Cup. Unfortunately.
FNB Maties vs FNB UJ in Stellenbosch @ 19h00.
Maties have only lost to log Leaders, Shimlas and had a great game on Monday a week ago when they stopped the unbeaten Wits team (37-10) in spectacular form.
UJ will be on a high after beating NWU (35-14) at home for the first win of the season. UJ is still second from the bottom of the 2021/2022 combined log and will need another few wins to ensure that they are not relegated at the end of this season.
Although UJ will be on a high they, unfortunately, do not have the manpower to beat Maties at home, however, they could push Maties to their limits.