On Monday evening, both the Central University of Technology Ixias and the University of the Free State Shimlas recorded impressive victories to change the dynamics of the log.

First up, it was the Ixias who finally got that proverbial monkey off their backs with a hard-fought and well-deserved 38-37 win over the NMMU Madibaz at CUT Park in Bloemfontein. More importantly, it was only the Ixias' second ever victory in the hugely popular tournament.

Both teams crossed the whitewash on five occasions to earn bonus points in the match, but it was the men from the Eastern Cape who were leading the game 22-15 at the break. The Ixias came to life in the 50th minute, and scored two tries to regain the lead. With ten minutes remaining on the clock, the visitors once again regained the lead, however, it was Jordan Koekemoer of the Ixias who has the last laugh with a late try.

The Ixias coach, Tiaan Liebenberg, told OFM Sport that they could have scored more points with smarter rugby, but he will take the win any day.

"We had a tough game on Monday and the guys did really well to get away with a win. We had a lot more opportunities and if we had played smarter, we could have had a much better scoreline.

"In saying that, the guys did immensely well, they showed a lot of heart, they showed a lot of fight and they showed that they belong in this competition.

"There is a still a lot of the hard work and a lot of rugby left this season, so we can just build on this, but very happy to get the monkey off the back."

The win saw the Ixias move up to seventh in the standings ahead of both the Madibaz and the defending champions, Tuks.

On the other side of town, the young and inexperienced Shimlas truly flexed their muscles in a hugely physical battle against the in-form and confident Wits for a 44-24 win.

This after the game was locked at 12-12 during the half time break. The Shimlas started their second half by using their power play, which saw two Wits backline players having to spend three minutes behind the posts. During that period the winger, Sango Xamleshe, went over for a seven-point try to break the deadlock. Minutes later the lock, Henk Pretorius, crashed over for a second seven-point try to bury the game. On stroke of full time, the impressive flanker, Menzi Nhlabathi, dotted down for a third seven-pointer the by the hosts.

This win moved the Shimlas to fourth in the standings behind Maties, Wits and the Ikeys.

Next week both teams are on the road again with Maties hosting the Ixias in Stellenbosch and Ikeys entertaining the Shimlas in Cape Town. Both matches will kick off at 18:30.

Round three results:

CUT Ixias 38 vs. Madibaz 37; UCT Ikeys 18 vs. NWU Pukke 15; UFS Shimlas 44 vs. Wits 24; Maties 24 vs. Tuks 16.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport