Scrimmages to Scrummages

"Helmet and pads on Thursdays," Richard Butcher said to himself as he neared the end of his daily walk from North House to Soldiers Field.

"It's helmet and pads on Thursdays for football," he repeated.

Senior Richard Butcher should know the routine of Harvard football. He spent his first three years as a Crimson gridder.

But today, he is not going to the football stadium. Gone are the days of "helmets and pads." Now, Butcher is dressed in t-shirt and shorts--and heading for rugby practice.

"At first, it was a really tough decision," Butcher said. "I had spent three years in football, and I had to decide if I wanted to continue."

Richard Butcher, like most athletes, expects a lot from himself. He was devoting all of his time to football, but was not getting back the results he expected from his hard work.

As a junior on last year's varsity football team, he lettered while seeing limited action at cornerback. He spent most of the season on the special teams unit. But it wasn't enough for Butcher. In his athletic life, he had come to expect more.

At Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, Cal., Butcher lettered in football, baseball and basketball.

Once at Harvard, Butcher set his sights on playing football. Not unlike other players, he played on the freshman and junior varsity squads. As a junior, he made the varsity, but did not see much playing time.

"It was a hard year for me and a hard year for the team," Butcher said of last year's 3-7 squad. The team was losing, and he was not playing much.

"I did the best of my ability, but I did not have the right tools the coach needed," Butcher said. "He looks for speed and raw jumping ability in defensive backs--the God-given physical abilities. Whereas my strength is in football intuition. I fare well in his categories, but I don't depend on them."

On the system used to rate defensive backs on all three football teams, Butcher was listed 11th.

"As far as raw scores go," he added, "that could be true, but as far as being a player and overall skills, no."

In the spring of his junior year, Butcher decided to play rugby to stay in shape for the upcoming football season. He had briefly played the sport in California.

"At first, I just had an interest," Butcher said of his decision to play rugby last spring. The interest turned into a serious stint. Butcher ended up playing in every game. He proved to be a strong runner, scoring four times and helping the rugby team solidify its defensive game.

This fall, Butcher had to make a decision between football and rugby. Lettering in football would have certainly gained him recognition. Rugby, on the other hand, was just another club sport.

"It was really tough," Butcher said. "If I am going to play, I am going to give it 100 percent. But I wasn't going to be in a good contributing position [for the football team]. I felt I would be shortchanging myself and the team.

"Then as I met the rest of the guys on the rugby team, it really started to snowball. I knew the team had a good core of guys coming back, and then the opportunity came to see the World Cup."

Seven members of the club traveled to New Zealand to watch the World Cup, as well as playing five contests with university and club teams.

"That trip is what sold Richard to rugby," rugby Coach Martyn Kingston said. "He got exposed to what it could offer him."

"It was an invaluable learning experience, and that just really sparked my interest," Butcher said.

Practice

He then spent the summer playing for a men's rugby club in San Diego, and, along with 30 other Harvard ruggers, made the trip to Cambridge for preseason practice.

"After doing all of that this summer, and knowing we had a good team, the decision wasn't that tough," Butcher said. "I wasn't trying to get away from football, but I was going to give rugby a shot."

So far, Butcher has made the transition from football to rugby look easy, and sees action at three different positions, primarily at outside center. He is a punishing tackler and an aggressive runner who is extremely aware on the field.

"He's a heads-up type of player," Kingston said. "A tactical player, and we are very lucky to have him."

For Kingston, Butcher's presence on the team has helped on, as well as off the field. "For me as a coach, Richard is a stabilizing influence. He is a gifted athlete by any standards, and on top of that, he has a high degree of discipline and he is a team player who works hard."

The ruggers also think Butcher has been a valuable addition.

"The transition isn't easy," rugby Co-Captain Scott Roberts said, "but Rich has shown it definitely can be done. He's a great guy and he fits in real well with the team."

Butcher is confident the team has a shot at the Ivy League title and possibly the national championship in April. And on the long walks to Soldiers Field, Richard Butcher will probably still be saying to himself, "No more helmet and pads on Thursdays."