'You can call it emotional': Currie Cup clash, then URC knock-out bout in North/South derby double

Saturday's Currie Cup clash between Western Province and the Bulls will have a little extra spice with their United Rugby Championship quarter-final scheduled just a week later.

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So far, on recent form, the Cape-based franchise has come out on top.

They won last year's URC final in Cape Town against the Bulls to be crowned the tournament's inaugural champions, as well as the recent Currie Cup match where Jack White opted for a full-strength side that went down 41-33 in March.

While White and Dobson are expected to keep their powder dry and not field their strongest possible line-ups this weekend, a win against their old rivals will certainly help morale with next week's quarter-final in mind.

Western Province assistant coach Norman Laker believes that, no matter what the relative strength of the teams are that run out in Cape Town on Saturday, a North vs South derby still means there's everything to play for. 

"Any Bulls side that comes to Cape Town, or a Province team that goes to Loftus, will be in for a tough game," Laker said as the teams prepared this week.

"A North-South derby is… you can call it an emotional [match], and everyone is wanting to prove a point."

Laker said that Province were up for back-to-back games and that, while the URC clash, also to be played in Cape Town, might be far more critical, for now, the focus was on Saturday and the Currie Cup.

"For us, it is nice to play back-to-back games, but we're purely focused on this Saturday's game for the Currie Cup at the moment," said Laker. 

"Jake has taken over after round four, and we played them in round two at Loftus, and there's obviously similarities. 

"The Bulls are quite aligned when