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The NMMU Madibaz avenged their semi-final defeat to Maties from last year by beating the three-time Varsity Cup champions 45-29 in their opening match in Port Elizabeth on Monday night.
It was the perfect start to the tournament for the Eastern Cape side, as they ran in six tries to claim a comprehensive bonus-point victory.
Despite conceding four tries to Maties it was a dominant performance that will serve as an ominous warning to the rest of the teams in the competition.
In other results, the University of Free State Shimlas cruised to a comfortable 31-15 bonus-point victory over Wits in a rain-soaked Bloemfontein, while defending champions UP-Tuks were held to an 18-18 draw by a spirited UJ side in Pretoria.
The NWU-Pukke opened their 2014 Varsity Cup campaign in clinical fashion, beating the Ikey Tigers 47-24 in Cape Town.
