PROVO — It’s a long way from Durban, South Africa, to Provo, Utah.

But for BYU rugby’s standout hook, it’s a little bit shorter, thanks to the diverse makeup of the Cougars’ 2016 squad that boasts players from seven countries outside the United States.

Alex Vorster is one of three South Africans (four if you count scrum half Joseph Nicholls of Zimbabwe, which “is practically South Africa,” Vorster joked) on the BYU team that will attempt to win its fifth-straight national championship Saturday in the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup final against Cal at South Field in Provo.

Vorster had a few family friends in South Africa who helped push him toward BYU. Among the most influential was former BYU All-American Shaun Davies, a U.S. international who currently plays professionally in Ohio.

“They kept in contact with me, and opened the door to this opportunity for me,” said Vorster, who is not a member of the school-sponsoring Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “But coming from Durban, South Africa, it’s a very big cultural change.

“People’s willingness to help you here, their kindness and giving, and everyone is so accepting of who you are; that’s really helped. The major factor is having so many international players around me. I have something in common with a lot of the people I surrounded myself with, and that has helped me settled in.”

The 6-foot, 225-pound Vorster played a role on BYU’s title-winning team last year at Rio Tinto Stadium. But his game found a new level as a sophomore this spring.

“He’s had a phenomenal season,” BYU coach David Smyth said of Vorster. “Playing his position in each of our games this year, he’s been unmatched. Technically in the scrums, he’s very smart and very strong. But then he has an added benefit of being able to move around the field. He’s very mobile, dangerous with the ball in his hand, and he’s scored a number of tries himself. He’s had a stellar season, and he’s definitely been one of our leaders.”

The BYU forward line anchored by Vorster has several players with the speed and mobility to score several tries a game. That makes the Cougar backfield even more dangerous, leading to 15 players who can score at any given moment, Smyth said.

“A lot of the credit has to go to the rest of the squad,” Vorster said. “We’ve had quite a few significant injuries throughout the season, and some players have stepped up to the mark. We’ve had new guys, like Sam Merrill, who’s never played rugby, and they are willing to learn and always wanting to improve. I think that’s helped our forwards a lot.

“It keeps everyone on their toes, and the new guys give fresh blood so we have the willingness to improve.”

Vorster has been a vital part of the BYU forward corps in his second season, and not just for his athleticism. A product of South Africa’s youth rugby system since he was 9 years old, Vorster doesn’t feel the need to “stick his finger in every pie.”

But if something needs to be said, he’s there to say it. After all, he was one of the newcomers at this time last year.

“If there are words that need to be said, I’m more than comfortable saying what needs to be said,” Vorster said. “I think we all have to be leaders at some point, but now that I’m a year into it, it’s more of a responsibility.”

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BYU rugby not taking rival Cal lightly ahead of 4th-straight title pairing

The BYU rugby team is one match away from its fifth-straight national championship, and the fourth-straight Varsity Cup title. But standing in the Cougars’ way is long-time nemesis Cal, whom BYU could tie for second-most consecutive national titles all-time with a win Saturday in the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup final at South Field.

Of course, if there is any team that can match BYU in depth, it’s Cal. While the Cougars have won three-straight Varsity Cup finals against the Golden Bears, it was Cal that proved to be a dominant force in collegiate rugby for decades.

The Golden Bears have won 25 national championships to BYU’s five, though the Cougars have won in five of the past seven years.

“Defensively, they are a very strong team,” Smyth said of Cal, which holds a U.S. rugby record of 12-straight national titles from 1991-2002. “When you try to get going and are ready to run, the Cal guy is right there. That makes it harder.”

The last time a team not named Cal or BYU won a national title was 2003, when Air Force defeated Harvard in the championship match. The Bears were third that season.

In addition, Cal is coming off a run of three-straight College Rugby Championship sevens titles, a rendition of the sport in which BYU no longer participates because of its no Sunday play policy.

It’s easy to see, then, what the rivalry between BYU and Cal has meant to the game of rugby — that’s as big for the sport as a national title for BYU, whose coaches often preach to players about being “custodians of the jersey.”

Even a sophomore like Vorster knows what the series means.

“I have been there before, and I remember they are a very fit team,” he said. “We need to keep up with them; they won’t stop until the final whistle.”

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