From the school fields to Cape Town Stadium: Will North/South dominance hold up in URC derby?

The mere mention of Paul Roos' 31-25 win against Affies at the ABSA Wildeklawer Festival in Kimberley on Monday was enough to draw a smile from Stormers utility back Damian Willemse at a pre-match press conference this week.

After all, it is the school where he lit up the Markötter Sporting Complex in the various Paul Roos teams he played for.

And it's these schoolboy rugby stages that prepare one for those titanic clashes like the one that kicks off at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, when the Stormers host the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship quarter-final.

"It's going to be a classic North/South derby and both teams are going to come out with physicality," said Willemse, who struck an optimistically cautious tone before the sixth URC meeting between the two teams.

The Stormers lead the head-to-head 5-0.

"We also need to look at what the Bulls have done over the past three weekends," he cautioned.

"I know a lot of people will say their backs are against the wall, but they remain a quality side.

"They're capable of causing an upset and beating us at home. Anything can happen and we're expecting them to bring it.

"It's going to be a big game with breaks, big hits, and crunching moments."

Still, he couldn't help smiling at his alma mater's exploits against the boys from Pretoria.

Of course, what happens at schoolboy level is far from being an indicator of what transpires on the elite rugby stage, but, for what it's worth, the South, just like their elite counterparts, has held sway over the North over the past two months.

Tshwane's major rugby school, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) has been tamed by Western Province's big three of Paul Roos, Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys High.

As a rule, the Western Cape teams have had