It is a tough week for Chester Williams and his University of the Western Cape team.
At least they had some good preparation for it with a 52-21 thumping of Villager last weekend
The win sees the Bellville students currently lying in fifth place on the Super League A log and it confirmed that they are one of the teams to watch when it comes to dark horses for the title this season.
But they will be severely tested this week.
Last night, Williams and his men hosted Maties in what would have been a mouthwatering intervarsity clash.
If we’re honest, the Bellville students would have had to produced a miracle if they wanted to beat the men from Stellenbosch.
The best they could have probably hoped for was a result that wouldn’t dent their confidence too much ahead of Saturday’s encounter against False Bay.
PUSHING: Clayton Daniels looks to keep UWC on attack. Photo: Thys Lombard.
That’s the thing about Maties, they can break your spirit and if you don’t recover quickly, it can derail your campaign completely.
The Bay, too, had to face the defending champions last weekend and would have been fairly satisfied that they didn’t get a half century, going down 39-18 as Stellenbosch kept their 100 percent win record in tact, winning their 10th match in a row.
One team that had their confidence completely shattered over the weekend is NTK, who lost 83-14 to UCT.
They now travel to Hamiltons on Saturday and the hope of restoring some pride.
Elsewhere, Tygerberg and Brackenfell return to action after byes last weekend.
Currently in seventh and eighth place respectively, the two teams will both be hungry for a win as they look for a top-six finish that will give them a shot at Maties’s title.
At Rosmead Avenue there will be a fight for a different reason when hosts Primrose welcome SK Walmers.
TOUGHER: Bronlee Mouries. Photo: Thys Lombard.
Bottom-club Roses will go all out to beat their visitors in the hope of catching NTK and avoid automatic relegation from SLA. It won’t be easy for them though.
Another team fighting relegation is Paarl.
Safe as it stands, they aren’t expected to climb the ladder after hosting Stellenbosch on Saturday.
Last weekend's results:
UCT 83, NTK 14;
Villager 21, UWC 52;
Maties 39, False Bay 18.
Saturday’s fixtures:
Tygerberg v Brackenfell;
Villager v UCT;
Primrose v SK Walmers;
Paarl v Maties;