Upon first learning about BYU's rugby team, Shaun Davies could not help entertaining some doubts about how favorably it compared to what he was familiar with back home.
Growing up in South Africa, Davies immersed himself in the sport. He wanted to keep playing rugby in college, but the junior also wanted to make sure playing for the Cougars would not be a foolish time investment.
One day of watching BYU in action was more than enough to convince him that their brand of rugby was of the good variety.
"Coming over, I was a little apprehensive because you don't hear much about Utah rugby," Davies said. "But when I first came over here, the day we got here, they had a scrimmage. We got to watch them and work with them a little bit, and I was very impressed."
It is difficult not to be impressed by the state of both major collegiate programs in Utah.
BYU and Utah are tied in the national rankings at No. 2 — behind California — in the latest rugbymag.com Top 25 Poll. And both instate teams are among the 16 still in the hunt to claim a national championship.
Seeing the Cougars and the Utes among the national title contenders should not surprise anyone who follows college rugby. Both teams have experienced a great deal of success at a national level over the past decade.
BYU is the defending national champion. The Cougars beat California in the championship game a year ago — after finishing second for three straight seasons.
"It was a night for the ages," BYU rugby coach David Smyth said. "It was one we won't forget for a long time."
The Cougars have possessed nationally elite rugby talent for many seasons but had not played in the national tournament until only a few years ago because the championship game fell on Sunday — which conflicted with the school's policy against playing on Sundays.
Once the dates changed, BYU begin climbing to the top and finally broke through last spring.
"We've been there three years prior to that and had come up short," Smyth said. "So, obviously, getting over the hump, it was a relief to start with. And after the relief set in, the feelings of just feeling like you had achieved something great were there. It was a great day for all of us."
BYU enjoys some natural advantages in building a strong rugby program. The Cougars can draw on LDS players from countries where rugby is a highly popular sport, and they also draw players from Utah high school rugby teams to build a team rife with talent and experience.
"For me, I think, BYU is successful because we take rugby seriously," said junior Dylan Lubbe, a native of South Africa. "There's meaning behind the program. The boys are serious about competing and constantly achieving success."
Utah hopes to take its turn at reigning atop the collegiate ranks this spring. The Utes made a pair of protracted national championship runs in their recent past — finishing second to the Golden Bears in 2002 and 2005.
Being in that title mix again is exactly what former Ute player and current head coach Blake Burdette envisioned when he took over the Utah program a year ago.
"I knew what kind of program we had," Burdette said. "I knew where I wanted to be and so I'm very satisfied in these boys doing well on the field."
Utah draws on more local players than BYU. Nearly 85 percent of the Utes' current roster has local ties. Mining the wealth of talent from strong high school rugby programs is one thing that helps the Utes stay competitive.
"It's really important because it gives us a big recruiting tool to keep the influx of kids coming in and keeping the program strong," Utah sophomore Danny James said. "A lot of guys go on missions, so we do need to have depth and we do need to have really good players to come in and fill those spots."
Success has been a boon for both teams when it comes to attracting better recruits and more fans. Increased attendance at rugby games allowed BYU to move from Helaman Field to South Field — where the men's soccer team also plays. For Utah, skilled players from outside the state are beginning to trickle in to supplement the homegrown talent.
"We get more recruits from out-of-state now than we have in the last five years I'd say," Ute senior Matt Wunderli said. "When I started, there wasn't anybody from outside of Utah. Now we have probably five or six." What makes the rise of college rugby in the Beehive State much more impressive is the fact that all of these players compete without athletic scholarships. College rugby is not sanctioned by the NCAA, but instead is administered through USA Rugby. Because of that, rugby has club sport status at both Utah and BYU.
Typically, players on both teams hold down either a part-time or full-time job in addition to their class schedule.
"That's one of the things that's fun about rugby," BYU sophomore Ryan Roundy said. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't love playing the game. All of us here — we pay for our tuition, we pay our dues. Everything. We do this because we love playing the game."
Continued dominance at the national level by Highland High has helped make the state of Utah a hotbed for high school rugby. Are the local college rugby teams on track to make a similar splash on a national scale?
Those involved with the sport say BYU and Utah are well on the way to making it happen on the collegiate level.
"The state of Utah has a great rugby heritage," Smyth said. "If you look at the high schools and the under-19 teams and then the college Division II teams and then ourselves and Utah, per capita I would say our rugby is as good as it is anywhere in the states."
USA Rugby 2010 Collegiate Championships
All times MT
Pool A at Santa Barbara, Calif.
Friday
Arizona vs. Syracuse, 6 p.m.
BYU vs. Delaware, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 4 p.m.
Pool B at Marietta, Ga.
Saturday
LSU vs. Penn State, 10 a.m.
Cal vs. UCLA, 2 p.m.
Sunday
Championship, 1 p.m.
Pool C at Santa Barbara, Calif.
Saturday
St. Mary's vs. Arkansas State, 2 p.m.
San Diego State vs. Bowling Green, 4 p.m.
Sunday
Championship, 2 p.m.
Pool D at Marietta, Ga.
Sunday
Army vs. Tennessee, 8 a.m.
Utah vs. Texas A&M, noon
Monday
Championship, 1 p.m.
Pool champions advance to semifinals at Stanford, Calif., April 30 and May 1Heady
e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com