Vorster poised for big senior rugby season

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This article was published 11/04/2025 (255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SOURIS — It didn’t take much for the Souris Sabres rugby program to exceed George Vorster’s expectations.

He thought he was leaving the game — his greatest passion — behind when his family bought a farm near the western Manitoba town and moved from Port Elizabeth, just about the southernmost point of South Africa.

Four years later, he has one more chance to guide the Sabres to a provincial title. “I didn’t think there would be rugby at all, to be honest. I was surprised to see rugby here,” Vorster said. “It’s not the same but it’s something.

“Back home I was just another player, average guy. Here, I kind of stood out.”

Vorster was a hooker back home but plays fly-half or inside centre for Souris. He’s much more involved in the team’s offence that way.

It’s bad news for opponents, who have to bring the five-foot-10, 198-pound bulldozer down dozens of times during an 80-minute match.

The team is two weeks out from the John Keogh Rugby Festival, taking place on April 26. It’s basically the lone pre-season game action for the four Westman High School Rugby boys’ teams.

Since it’s a short season, they aren’t sitting around waiting for the rest of the snow to melt. Coach Brian Yon held a couple of practices before spring break and is putting his varsity boys and girls through at least two per week ahead of the exhibition event.

“It’s extremely important for us to have a foundation of work, especially when you get new players coming in here, kids who haven’t played the game before,” Yon said.

“The little bit of work we can do in the gym is just working on some of the basic fundamentals, such as run, catch, pass, and contact skills.

“We can take that outside and they’ve had a bit of an introduction to that, then we can get to where it starts getting a little bit more physical.”

For rugby-obsessed folks like Yon and Vorster, it’s nearly impossible to get enough of the sport around here.

“It is frustrating in the sense that it’s winter six months of the year here, then we have to start in the gym and the kids want to be outside but any little bit of work you can get in helps,” Yon said. “We have to be pretty resourceful here in Manitoba … in the sense of facilities we can use.”

The Sabres open their season on April 29 at home against the Vincent Massey Vikings. Dauphin hosts Crocus Plains on May 1 to open their quick, one-match-a-week regular season.

The playoffs run May 20-24, with both finalists earning spots at provincials on May 30-31.

“Pretty excited, hope to go all the way,” Vorster said. “I think it might be our year with the skill and the players.”

Regardless of how this season goes, Vorster knows his rugby journey will continue next fall. He’s heading to Victoria, B.C., to play semi-professionally for the Castaway Wanderers Rugby Club.

“Very nervous but excited too. I can’t wait to get out,” Vorster said.

“It’s a big step but I’ve played with the men’s team in Brandon when I was in Grade 11 and it’s about to be my second season with them.

“Rugby was pretty much the only thing, my hobby in Canada for me, the most important thing for me so it means a lot to me to play.”

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