Alisha Butchers (born 14 June 1997) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays flanker for

Bristol Bears Women Bristol Bears Women, formerly Clifton Ladies RFC, then Bristol Ladies, is a women's rugby union team based in Bristol, England. They are a standalone, independent rugby club, running in partnership with the Bristol Bears (formerly Bristol Rugby) s ...

and the

Wales women's national rugby union team The Wales women's national rugby union team first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship History Wales Women have played as a team officially since 5 April 1987 when a Wales Women te ...

. She made her debut for the Wales rugby union team in 2016 and has played in 29 matches for the national side. Butchers scored her first international

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in 2016 in a

Women's Six Nations Championship The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the TikTok Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes, is an international rugby union competition contested between six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the ...

victory over

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. She works as an Active Young People Officer and a Girls' Hub Officer while continuing her rugby career.

Biography

Butchers' birth was on 14 June 1997 in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales. She was educated at Halfway Primary School in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. Butchers is the sister-of-law of Welsh forward Nicky Smith. As of 2021, she is listed in her Welsh Rugby Union biography as and her weight is . Butchers plays as either flanker or back-rower in

. Outside of rugby, she has worked for the Actif Sport and Leisure as a Sports Mentor and later as an Active Young People Officer full-time since she was 18. She is an ambassador for Vala Health. Since early 2019, Butchers is also employed as a Girls' Hub Officer at Cardiff Blues Community Foundation to increase grassroots rugby at

Y Pant School Y Pant School () is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium community comprehensive secondary school and sixth form in Talbot Green, Pontyclun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. History Since the original school was built, two main buildings have been a ...

and

Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium, community secondary school and sixth form in Beddau, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Notable alumni * Ellis Jenkins, rugby union player * Gethin Jenkins, rugby union player * ...

in the

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

area. She began playing sport in primary school. Butchers played for Bynea RFC, the Llanelli Schoolboys and the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

under 18s team and the Carmarthen Quins RFC. She competed in the multi-sport 2013 School Games in Sheffield as a member of the gold-medal winning Wales Dragons A rugby union team. Butchers made her international debut for the

against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at the

2016 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2016 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2016 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union ...

, replacing Shona Powell Hughes in the second half of the match. She scored her maiden international

in a 23–10 win over

the following week in the same tournament. Butchers went on to make a further 27 appearances for the national side and scored an extra try in the

2017 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2017 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2017 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union ...

. She has also played five times for the

Wales women's national rugby sevens team The Wales Women's National Sevens Team represents Wales in Rugby sevens. History In 2006 Wales won the 2006 European Women Sevens Championship, European Women Sevens Championship after beating England women's national rugby sevens team, Englan ...

and scored five tries for them. Butchers was named to the rugby sevens side for the women's rugby sevens tournament at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in

Gold Coast, Australia The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

but did not play any games due to an ankle injury sustained during a game in the

2018 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2018 RBS Women's Six Nations sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between six Europ ...

. She was one of three Welsh women who played in a match for

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2019 that Barbarian won 34–33. At the club level, she played for Scarlets Ladies until January 2019. Butchers signed to play for

Premier 15s The Premier 15s, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Allianz Premier 15s, is the top tier of the women's English rugby union domestic league system run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The league was created mainly from teams in t ...

club

Worcester Warriors Women Worcester Warriors Women, currently known as the University of Worcester Warriors for partnership reasons, and formally known as Worcester Valkyries, are a women's rugby union club in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. They were founded in 1993, ...

with immediate effect that same month. She did however continue to represent Scarlets at the regional level. In June 2020, she signed to join

also of Premier 15 to increase the options available for coach

Kim Oliver Kim Oliver is a retired British actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as the prison inmate Buki Lester in the TV drama series '' Bad Girls''. Oliver is married to the musician Matthew Hales, who is more widely recognized under his stag ...

to select a back row player. Butchers fell on her ankle and sustained ligament damage in a training session for Bristol Bears in 2021. Her contract with the team did not cover all the medical costs for the treatment of her injury and the private insurance policy she took out was voided because the club was paying her, forcing her to fundraise online. She did not want to get operated by the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

due to pressures it was under caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and her season would have ended prematurely. The situation attracted media attention and Butcher called for better education of problems with insurance in semi-professional women's rugby. She is currently dating fellow Welsh Rugby Union player and Bristol Bears 14 Jasmine Joyce. Butchers was selected in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

squad for the

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Butchers has been in a relationship with her Bristol and Wales teammate

Jasmine Joyce Jasmine Joyce (born 9 October 1995) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays wing for the Wales women's national rugby union team, Team GB and Bristol Bears. She made her debut for the Wales national squad in 2017, and represented them at the 2021 W ...

since 2016, becoming engaged in 2022.https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/you-everything-want-partner-best-23003535

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butchers, Alisha 1997 births Living people Rugby union players from Swansea 20th-century Welsh women 21st-century Welsh women Welsh female rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Female rugby sevens players Rugby union flankers Barbarian F.C. players