BIG BOOTS, BUT HE CAN FILL THEM
Butler unfazed since inheriting captaincy from Connacht icon
JARRAD BUTLER picked up a shoulder injury in the win over Scarlets last weekend and he sat out training earlier in the week, but it is hoped he will be available to face Leinster at the Sportsground on Saturday.
In fact, Connacht are absolutely desperate for Butler to play — doing everything possible to have the flanker fit enough to tog out for what is shaping up to be a seismic showdown.
In little over a year, Butler has gone from largely unknown overseas signing to Connacht captain, picking up the Player’s Player of the Season award along the way.
And yet, very little is known, or said, about the 27-year-old, who arrived under the radar from the Brumbies last year and was a shining light in a season of gloom under the short, ill-fated reign of Kieran Keane.
Talking to people around the Connacht set-up, the consensus is that Butler is an unassuming, private individual who goes about his business with the minimum of fuss.
But there are consistent themes when Butler’s name comes up — his work ethic, his values and his presence.
That last quality is crucial because he inherited the captaincy from the ultimate Connacht presence — legendary local boy John Muldoon, who retired after 15 years and 327 appearances last season to take up a defence coach role with former coach Pat Lam at Bristol. Butler must be weary of the phrase ‘big boots to fill’ at this stage because it permeates all talk of his captaincy, and the ‘Mul factor’ is in play again this week with the sideshow furore over the offence caused by Muldoon’s valedictory conversion during his final appearance — the 47-10 hammering of Leinster at the Sportsground last April. When it came to selecting a replacement captain, a shortlist of individuals who ‘got’ the culture of Connacht was drawn up. It is believed names like Tiernan O’Halloran, Dave Heffernan and Tom McCartney were on that list — men who had been at the coalface for an extended period, including the epic league title triumph in 2016, but Butler was the unanimous, and initially surprising, choice.
The assumption was that with Australian coach Andy Friend taking over, Butler’s background made him an easier fit as chief lieutenant. While it did not hurt, it seems the Aussie alliance was not decisive in what was a thoroughly democratic process.
‘I didn’t really know Jarrad until I got here. Maybe there’s a perception that I’ve come in here, he’s the Aussie here so I’ve just thrown him in. It’s certainly not the case,’ said Friend.
‘We went through a set of standard behaviours we want to deliver as a group. We then said who currently lives those the best and Jarrad has been nominated.
‘Everything about the man I’ve been impressed with.’
Typically, Butler stressed that he saw the captaincy as an inclusive, rather than a dictatorial role, placing the emphasis on the collective over the individual.
‘I’m not going to claim I know everything. When it comes to scrums I talk to Tom McCartney and Denis Buckley. When it comes to the backs, I talk to Tiernan O’Halloran. I need to get that input,’ he said.
‘I don’t think I have to distance myself and be bossy. Everyone takes on the accountability and feels they can stand up and make the team be the best it can be.’
It is unusual in Irish rugby for an overseas player to be given such responsibility, but not unprecedented. Perhaps the best comparison is Isa Nacewa at Leinster, a player who was on hand to provide direction when frontline players were away on international duty.
Butler’s style of captaincy is understated, more ‘do as I do’ than ‘do as I say’ but he has still made sure to open a dialogue with referees — something he admits he struggled with initially. But he has grown into the role during Connacht’s encouraging start to the season and the fact his focus is entirely on the province, rather than international honours, aids his cause.
Butler did once harbour aspirations of playing for the Wallabies, even though his roots are in New Zealand.
He is actually Maori by birth (the Taranaki Tuturu) and was raised in the small New Zealand town of Paraparaumu just outside Wellington. Paraparaumu translates as ‘scraps from the oven’ in Maori, somewhat fittingly given Butler is now forging a career at a province that exists largely on cast-offs from other provinces as well as budgetfriendly foreigners.
His family moved to the Gold Coast when he was 13 and, after taking up a scholarship at the Southport School (the alma mater of golfer Adam Scott, tennis star Bernard Tomic and Wallaby centurion Nathan Sharpe) he progressed through the Aussie system, playing for the national schools and Under-20 sides.
That led to a stint with the Reds but it was when he switched to the Brumbies in 2014 and filled in for the revered David Pocock (away on sabbatical) that a Wallabies call-up seemed inevitable.
After being named Player of the Year at Brumbies, newly-installed Australian coach Michael Cheika called Butler up for the Barbarians at the end of 2015 and described him as an ‘outstanding’ international prospect.
But the cap never came and, when Connacht picked up the phone last year, Butler was ready to make the move.
As well as proving effective for Connacht, Butler’s assurance has brought on younger backrowers like Paul Boyle and Sean O’Brien. He also exudes a gravitas that the Maoris refer to as ‘mana’.
Which is why Connacht are so desperate to have Butler’s ‘mana’ on hand against Leinster on Saturday.
‘It’s humbling to have the players and staff put their trust in you to lead them. There’s pressure. There are some big boots to fill.’
He’s filling them.