Toshi Butlin

Toshi Butlin ran 100 metres in 10.53 seconds at seventeen, won an Oceania under-18 title and was offered a place at an American university to specialise in sprinting. He went to the Béarn to play rugby instead, and scored twice on his Champions Cup debut.

Wing at Pau, 1.78m and 88kg, and 21 years old.

Born in Brisbane to an Australian father who played the game and a Japanese mother, both teachers, he holds both nationalities. He played rugby league from seven, switched codes at twelve into the Brisbane State High School programme, and was in the Queensland Reds academy by 2021.

He left in 2023 after talks with two other French clubs, choosing Pau on the strength of Brandon Fajardo’s pitch and the development plan attached to it, while still hoping to play for Australia.

The first season was difficult in a way that is specific to converted athletes. His conditioning had been built for short, maximal efforts, and adapting it to four rugby sessions a week produced a run of muscle injuries.

Sevens carried him through it. The Pau leg of the 2023 Supersevens went to him and his side, beating Bordeaux-Bègles 42-7 in the final, and they reached the final of the next one.

The dual nationality is worth noting for what it may mean later. He holds an Australian and a Japanese passport, and Japan have recruited actively among players with exactly that background.

He started a Top 14 match at Montauban in December 2025 after a withdrawal hours before kick-off, and scored twice against the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets a month later. A pure speed winger, now in the professional rotation at 21.