A 14-man University of the Free State Shimlas secured their third straight bonus point win in the Varsity Cup on Monday night with a hard-fought 48-26 win against UWC in Bloemfontein.

The Shimas scored no less than four point-of-origins tries in the match with Makwande Dlamini, Siviwe Zondani, Michiel Genis and Nkoka Ngobe all dotting down for seven-pointers. In addition, Francisco Dos Reis and Liyema Mgwigwi each crossed the whitewash as well.

The flyhalf, Ethan Wentzel, who was named as the Player that Rocks, enjoyed a near perfect evening with the boot as he landed five of the six conversion attempts.

The win was made tougher for the Shimlas as their captain, Pierre Uys, received a yellow card in the third minute of the game for a grass-cutter tackle, and late in the second half he was issued a second yellow for a high tackle, which resulted in an automatic red card.

UWC certainly didn’t go down without a fight and they managed to secure a bonus point with Bryan Breda, Ruben Swanepoel, Romuan Nsombamanya and Will Vraagom all scoring tries.

Wentzel told OFM Sport that it wasn't an easy win and his performance in the number ten jersey over the past two games has given him a lot of confidence going forward.

“The coaches told us that this was going to be a difficult week, but we needed this one, said Wentzel.

“It was a difficult game for us because we weren't at our best, but at least we got the five points and were staying on top.

“I'm very happy with my performance - I'm glad to be a part of the Shimlas and a part of God's plan and I can't wait to see what this team is going to do in the future.

“At least my kicking boots were good tonight, it was above 50%. The last couple of weeks it didn't go all that well, but the training sessions during the week helped a lot and it gave me my confidence back tonight.”

Meanwhile, over in Potchefstroom the defending champions, the North West University Eagles returned to winning ways with a resounding 51-22 victory against the Wits.

This win moved the Eagles back to second on the log and they will start feeling more confident of securing a spot in the semi-finals.

Over at the Green Mile in Cape Town, the UCT Ikeys were too strong for the CUT Ixias and managed to secure a 44-7, while at the Danie Craven Stadium, Maties beat UJ 54-22.

Next week it's a big one with the Ixias hosting the Shimlas in the Bloemfontein derby. This game at CUT Park will kick-off at 19:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport