Arno Botha


Arnoldus Francois Botha is a South African rugby union footballer. He can operate either as a flanker or number 8.

School and early career

Botha began primary school at Laerskool Messina before moving to Nylstroom. He was captain of the rugby first team of Hoërskool Nylstroom for 2 years and he represented Limpopo at the Craven Week competitions in 2008 and 2009.
He represented the Bulls in Super Rugby and the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup. In 2013, he signed a contract extension to keep him at the until 2016.

Representative rugby

Youth

He was captain of the South Africa Under 20 team that competed in the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship in Italy and was also named South Africa Under 20 player of the year.
Botha made his debut for the Springboks against on 8 June 2013 at Kings Park Stadium in Durban as the No. 7 flank. In his second test against on 15 June 2013 in Nelspruit, Botha left the field after four minutes of play, having ruptured ligaments in his left knee.

South Africa 'A'

In 2016, Botha was included in a South Africa 'A' squad that played a two-match series against a touring England Saxons team. He didn't play in their first match in Bloemfontein, but started the second match of the series, a 26–29 defeat in George.

Europe

London Irish

In January 2018, he joined English Premiership side London Irish.

Munster

Botha joined Irish Pro14 side Munster on a one-year contract for the 2018–19 season. He made his competitive debut on 1 September 2018, starting at number 8 in their opening 2018–19 Pro14 fixture against South African side Cheetahs in Thomond Park, a game which Munster won 38–0. Botha scored his first try for Munster in the provinces 49–13 win against Ospreys on 14 September 2018. Botha made his Champions Cup debut for Munster on 20 October 2018, coming off the bench in the provinces 36–22 win against English side Gloucester in pool 2. He signed a one-year contract extension with Munster in December 2018, a deal that will see him remain with the province until at least June 2020.
Botha was shown a red card for foul play in the 81st minute of Munster's 10–3 win against English side Saracens on 7 December 2019, and was subsequently banned for three weeks. He scored a hat-trick of tries in Munster's 68–3 win against South African side Southern Kings in round 11 of the 2019–20 Pro14 on 14 February 2020.

Return to South Africa

Botha will return to South Africa to join in July 2020, if travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic allow him to do so.