RWU HQ – If you follow the Legends Football League (what used to be the Lingerie Football League), Australian Rugby or read my column two weeks ago you might be familiar with the name Chloe Butler.
Chloe is currently playing rugby for the Australian Women’s National Team. I wrote a column about Chloe’s transformation from lingerie football player to international rugger. Two weeks later I had the lovely opportunity to ask Chloe some questions and with that, it’s our pleasure to bring you this latest RWU Rugby Q&A.
Q: I guess the best place to start is from the beginning… So where are you from originally? Australia?
Q: What were some of the sports you played growing up? How long did you play those for?
A: I did gymnastics for five years and track and field (400m) for eight years.
Q: How did you first get interested in the Legends Football League?
A: My brother is an actor in LA wanted to go visit him and spend time with him. Whilst I was doing a modelling gig in Australia I met some girls from LA who told me about it and said I should play.
Q: What attracted you too it?
A: The hard hitting and athleticism.
Q: Could you describe what your first game and practice were like?
A: Well I didn’t know the game very well so Im pretty sure in an Aussie Kangaroo like fashion I bounced around boxing and tackling everything in sight to secure a spot on the team.
Q: How would you describe your career?
A: Some may say controversial but I prefer Authentic, I hope that it inspires young girls to pursue a career in sport and strive for greatness rather then hanging there Hat and perhaps believing that Sport isn’t for women.
Q: Now I know you’re playing rugby now… How did that come about?
A: Well the truth is that after I had several stress fractures from my sprinting career I was forced to pursue another avenue so that’s when my escapade to Los Angeles and the Lingerie Football began. Incidentally it was the LFL that lead me to my local rugby club to learn how to tackle before I left.
Q: Have you always been interested in rugby?
A: I have always appreciated the sport however it was only later in life that I found it and wished I had played earlier.
Q: Do you think that the LFL helped prepare you for rugby?
A: Yes, definitely. It would be a lie to say that it didn’t. I trained for 4 odd years with the LFL that included hard hitting contact, agility, speed and endurance drills and games amongst athletes of a very high caliber including USA track and field athletes, WNBA players and a numbers scholarship winning collegian athletes.
Q: Do you think there’s anything that you’ve learned from playing in the LFL that you took with you to the pitch?
A: Definitely when you play in any contact sport you learn about playing with heart and playing for one another, it’s the sisterhood and passion that creates the drive and dedication that ultimately makes you the player you are today.
Q: Now, I believe that you were playing rugby with the Australian Capital Territory and Parramatta Two Blues. What was that like?
A: ACT was my first representative honors where I actually played Wing despite playing Flanker now. It was great ACT is a very passionate Rugby state so it was a great place to learn especially amongst my countries finest rugby players including Sharni Williams, Louise Burrows and Shellie Millward.
Parramatta is my current Club I play for in Sydney along side my Aussie teammates Nita Maynard and Hanna Sio. Parramatta Two Blues is a very passionate rugby club that surrounds its values in ‘Grass Roots’ football that means to develop players from the beginning. If it wasn’t for the passionate rugby coaches there and developing pathways I would not be at the World Cup today, I went there as a winger and they developed me into a knowledgeable and tactical forward.
Q: How did playing with those teams help prepare you for playing internationally?
A: As I mentioned above playing alongside such talented players like my Aussie team mates Nita and Hanna along with the very passionate coaching staff they equipped me with the knowledge and belief to go up against the best in the world.
Q: So you’re playing with the Walaroos now… How did that come about?
A: I returned to Australia after playing in LA in the LFL. Started playing club football at the Parramatta Two Blues women’s side to
make friends and play sport again not long after getting selected in the New South Wales representative side to play at the national championship where my team won and I received most improved player. I was then selected to be a part of the Australian Wallaroos training squad of 44 members to train for the 2014 Womens Rugby Union World Cup. From this squad I was chosen for squad for the Tri Nations Series against the New Zealand Black Ferns and Canada in June 2014. And from that here I am 🙂
Q: How has this experience been for you?
A: It has been amazing! An honor to play amongst the worlds best and apart of such an amazing tournament I feel privileged.
Q: How excited are you that you have the opportunity to represent Australia on the world’s biggest stage, the World Cup?
A: I am so excited. It’s something that makes every training session you ever did worth every drop of sweat!
Q: Are there things you learned from your days as a football player that still help you or you can lean on to this day?
A: Yes definitely, always play to the whistle and make every inch count!
Q: How would you describe how your rugby experience has been overall?
A: It has been challenging but made me grow on and off the field. The sisterhood and support you receive from the community is uplifting and just makes you feel so empowered to be proud of who you are.
Q: Now let’s take a moment to talk about things off the rugby pitch… If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two items, what would they be and why? A cell phone is not included!
A: Definitely a lasso rope for lassoing turtles…the Lingerie Football themed headlines never gets old ‘Lingerie Football Girl Lasso’s her way out of trouble’
Q: When you’re not training for rugby, what are some of the things you do in your spare time?
A: I love my dogs. I am such a hard worker that when I am not at training I just like the simple things walking my dogs and watching the world go by.
Q: If you could sit down and have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would they be and why?
A: Probably Jesus, Princess Diana and Gandhi because I love positive people who believe in kindness to one another that is a little bit contradicting of me since I play a contact sport.
Q: Almost everyone listens to music while they get ready for their match or game… What’s the last song you listen to before you put your iPod/iPhone away?
A: I am that angry gangster rapper type probably, Eminem. I like club remixes too. Anything with a bit of beat.
Q: One last question… What does rugby mean to you?
A: Rugby to me means family..it stands for who you belong to and what you believe in and to me that’s a strong strength of character!
Q: Thank you for your time Chloe.
A: It’s been my pleasure DJ.
