Brian Leslie Butler (born 16 February 1948) is a Welsh former

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 ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for a 'Wales XV', and at club level for

Felinfoel RFC Felinfoel RFC is a Welsh rugby union club representing the town of Felinfoel, Llanelli, West Wales. Felinfoel RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for Llanelli Scarlets. Club honours * WRU Division Two West - 2007/08 ...

and

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

, as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, i.e. number 1 or 3, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

, and at club level for

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

, Swinton and

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

( Heritage № 767), as a , i.e. number 8 or 10, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

Background

Brian Butler was born 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. ...

, Wales.

Rugby union career

Butler first came to prominence as a rugby union player when he represented Felinfoel. Like many other players before him, he moved from Feloinfoel to neighbouring Llanelli where he played as prop. In the 1967–68 season he was a regular in the first team, opposite Byron Gale with club captain Norman Gale completing the front row. Although never capped for the Wales national team he was selected to tour Argentina in 1968 as part of a select 'Wales XV'. Butler played against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on 14 September at Buenos Aires; the Wales XV lost 9–5, no

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s were awarded at the time, but he was later awarded a

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

President's cap. In June 1970 Butler, along with club-mate Stuart Gallacher switched to professional rugby league, joining Bradford Northern. This act severed his ties with rugby union and he never played the sport again.

Rugby league career

International honours

Brian Butler won

s for

(RL) while at Swinton in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series) was the seventh tournament for the Rugby League World Cup. The format differed from that employed in previous competitions; no single country hosted the matches, whi ...

against France, New Zealand, and France, and while at Warrington in 1977 against France.

Club career

Brian Butler was transferred from Swinton to

in exchange for

David Chisnall David Chisnall (10 April 1948 – 11 January 2013) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Leigh (two spells), ...

, he made his début for

on Sunday 12 October 1975, and he played his last match for Warrington on Sunday 20 March 1977.

References

External links

Photograph "Brian Butler, Llanelli forward, wins the ball back, 26th February 1968" at alamy.comPhotograph "Hutchinson goes in for a tackle - Young "A" team hooker, Kevin Hutchinson, goes in to make a tackle against St Helens. - 22/08/1970" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Butler goes down - Brian Butler goes down to a double tackle against Hull KR. - 04/04/1971" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Brian Butler Makes A Break - Brain Butler makes a break during todays game at Odsal - 24/12/1972" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Brian Butler - Brian Butler hands off a Castleford opponent. - 30/04/1972" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Seabourne leads his men - Barry Seabourne, acting skipper, leads his men out down the slope. - 01/10/1972" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Brian Butler Breaks - Brian Butler breaks for the Rochdale line. - 16/04/1972" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Brian Butler covered - Ex Northern prop Brian Butler is covered in the cup match at Station Road. - 24/02/1974" at rlhp.co.uk
(archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.ukSearch for "Brian Butler" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Brian 1948 births Living people Bradford Bulls players Felinfoel RFC players Footballers who switched code Llanelli RFC players Rugby league players from Llanelli Rugby league props Rugby union players from Llanelli Rugby union props Swinton Lions players Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players