It’s been a bit of a seesaw season for the guys at UWC in 2018.
They started the year off with a bang, winning the Varsity Shield to book their place in next year’s Varsity Cup.
So while boss Chester Williams’s side is gearing up for the big Monday night tournament, they have taken a step back in the Western Province Super League A.
And as it stands, there is a real possibility that UWC might go down in one competition and up in other.
Their motto is “Never Quit” and the Bellville students will have big opportunity to take some steps towards safety when they travel to neighbours Belhar on Saturday.
Belhar, too, have had a tough year and are still winless after 10 matches.
They come off a humiliating 148-3 defeat to defending champions Maties last weekend and look set to play Super League B rugby next season.
With Belhar at the bottom of the pile on a single log point, there is still some hope for UWC to make it out of the bottom to and avoid automatic relegation.
Currently on 11 log points, the students trail third-from-bottom St Georges by a single log point.
And a victory over Belhar will transfer the pressure onto the men from the Strand area.
Regardless of the result in Belhar on Saturday, St Georges will feel the heat this week.
First up is a visit from third-placed False Bay this weekend, before they travel to Stellenbosch to face Maties next Wednesday.
It must be tough for non-varsity sides to get ready for these midweek games, meaning the schedule will challenge St Georges in a week that might see them drop into the bottom two.
However tough it is for the working-class heroes to play on Wednesdays, there has been no shortage of action in the last few weeks.
And it’s here where the Maroon Machine from Stellenbosch has caught up with their rivals.
Last night Maties travelled to Theo Marais Park where they faced UniMil, while Victorians and False Bay crossed swords at the Danie Craven Stadium.
Back to Saturday, another interesting encounter takes place at the Stephen Oval where Hamiltons will host Brackenfell.
After a fast start to the season, Brackenfell have suffered some setbacks recently and have dropped down to eighth on the log.
Their aim is still to reach the top six and go through to the knockout phase of the competition, but coach Thinus van Rensburg will know that bagging the log points against Hamiltons will be a tough one.
Elsewhere, UniMil host Vics, UCT take on Durbell, Tygerberg welcome SK Walmers and Villager play Maties.
All first team games kick off at 4pm
UniMil v Victorians, UCT v Durbell, Tygerberg v SK Walmers, Villager v Maties, St Georges v False Bay, Hamiltons v Brackenfell, Belhar v UWC
Victorians 34 Brackenfell 28, UCT 17 Hamiltons 39, SK Walmers 25 UWC 23, NTK 15 False Bay 45, Belhar 3 Maties 148.