Maroon Machine looking for revenge in Cape derby against Ikey Tigers

The last time the two powerhouses met it was in the 2025 FNB Varsity Cup final and the Maroon Machine left as runners-up losing 44-21. They meet again on Monday in round 5 and this time FNB Maties have their sights set on a big win in Cape Town as they head to the Green Mile. They have experienced indifferent form so far this campaign, having won and lost on two occasions. Those results leave them in fifth place, but firmly in the mix for a spot in the knockout stages.

Despite their early-season struggles, they find themselves just four-points behind the defending champions in third. The Maroon Machine will be brimming with confidence following a 35-point home success over FNB Emeris in Round three.

Stellies will be hoping for another stellar performance from midfielder, Samuel Badenhorst, who was in red-hot form in Round four. The Stellenbosch centre was in a menacing mood against Emeris, causing all sorts of problems with ball-in-hand, that saw him score two tries and walk away as the FNB Player that Rocks.

Badenhorst is excited by his team’s trip to the Green Mile and says, “The team is ready for the challenge”. Maties seemingly struggled to get out of second gear against Emeris in their last outing – something they’ll be looking to put right against UCT.

“As a team, we decided to just go full out from the start for 80 minutes and leave everything on the field.” said Badenhorst.

The Maroon Machine are confident heading into the clash in the Cape and revealed that the squad have “bought in” to the gameplan set out by the coaching staff.

Maties will be hoping they can repeat the result from last season’s round robin phase where they come out on top at Danie Craven. This time around, they won’t have the luxury of playing in front of their home support and will need to have their wits about them in the tricky Green Mile conditions.

“We think it is going to be windy as it always is but we are prepared for it and ready for the challenge” said Badenhorst.

By: Kieryn Thompson