Jarrad Butler

Jarrad Butler (born 20 July 1991) is an Australian rugby union player. He primarily plays as a flanker but also plays at number 8. Butler currently plays for and captains Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14. Before joining Connacht, Butler played in Super Rugby, first for the Reds and then for the Brumbies. While playing for the Brumbies, Butler also played for National Rugby Championship the Canberra Vikings, where he served as captain.

Jarrad Butler

Date of birth	(1991-07-20) 20 July 1991
Place of birth	Wellington, New Zealand
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	106 kg (16.7 st; 234 lb)
School	The Southport School
University	Queensland UT
Height and weight correct as of 9 May 2019
Rugby union career
Position(s) Back row Current team Connacht Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014–2016 Canberra Vikings 23 (81) 2017– Connacht 56 (20) Correct as of 19 Mar 2020 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2012–2013 Reds 12 (0) 2014–2017 Brumbies 60 (25) Correct as of 16 July 2017 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2008 Australia schools 3 (0) 2010 Australia U20 4 (10) 2015 Barbarians 1 (0)

Born in Wellington, New Zealand Butler moved to Australia at 13, and has represented the country at under-age level. He played for the Australia schoolboys team in 2008 and the under-20 side in 2010. Butler has also played for international invitational side, the Barbarians.

Early life

Butler was born in Wellington, New Zealand and moved with his family to the Gold Coast in Australia as a 13-year-old. He attended The Southport School on a rugby scholarship.[1] After finishing in school, Butler was part of the national academy of the Australian Rugby Union and also studied part time at Queensland University of Technology.[2]

Club career

Reds

During the 2012 Super Rugby season, Butler joined the Reds on a short-term contract from the Australian Rugby Union academy to cover an injury crisis.[2] He made his debut as a replacement against the Highlanders on 6 July 2012 at Suncorp Stadium.[3] He played again in the last game of the regular season against Waratahs. Butler's performances in 2012 prompted head coach Ewen McKenzie to name him in the franchise's Extended Playing Squad for 2013.[4] Butler was capped a further 10 times throughout the 2013 Super Rugby season, with all but one of these appearances coming from the bench.[5]

Brumbies

Butler joined Canberra-based side, the Brumbies ahead of the 2014 Super Rugby season.[6] The move saw him earn far greater game time, starting in all 18 of the side's matches that season,[5] including both knockout games as the Brumbies reached the semi-final stage. Butler scored his first try for the side in the quarter-final win over the Chiefs.[7] The following season again saw Butler feature in all games as the Brumbies reached the semi-final stage, although half of his appearances came as a replacement following the return from injury of the team's vice-captain David Pocock.[5][8]

In the 2016 season, he featured in 13 of 16 games for the side, starting on all but two occasions.[5] Butler formed a back row partnership with Australian internationals Pocock and Scott Fardy over the course of the season, starting at number 8 alongside the pair in the quarter-final defeat to Highlanders.[9] Butler had a slow start to the 2017 season, with a hamstring injury keeping him out of the opening rounds.[10] He went on to play in a total of 11 games for the season, starting in just four of them.[5] It was announced in July 2017 that Butler would leave Brumbies at the end of the 2017 season.[11] He played his final game for the Brumbies on 21 July 2017 in a quarter-final defeat to the Hurricanes.[12] During his time with the Brumbies, he made a total of 60 appearances, scoring five tries.[5]

Canberra Vikings

During his time with the Brumbies, Butler also played for club side the Canberra Vikings. With the Vikings, he competed in the National Rugby Championship, a club competition established in 2014. Butler played in seven of the team's eight games in the inaugural season, and scored six tries.[5] In the 2015 season he was named captain,[13] and started all 10 of the side's games as they finished runners up to Brisbane City.[5][14] Butler retained the captaincy for the 2016 season,[13] where he featured in six games.[5] His departure for Connacht at the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season meant he did not play for the Vikings in the 2017 NRC.[11] He made a total of 23 appearances in his three seasons with the side.[5]

Connacht

In July 2017, it was announced that Butler had signed a three-year contract with Irish Pro14 side Connacht. He joined the province ahead of the 2017–18 season.[15] He was a regular fixture in the first team for the year, starting in 17 of the side's 26 games and featuring from the bench in a further two.[16][17] At the end of his first season, Butler was named Connacht's Players' Player of the Year.[18] Following the retirement of long-serving captain John Muldoon in 2018, Butler was named as the province's new captain for the 2018–19 season.[19] He continued to be a regular fixture in the team, starting 19 of the team's 21 regular season games in the 2018–19 Pro14 as they finished third in their conference.[16] He also started in the play-off quarter-final defeat to Ulster at the end of the season.[20]

International career

Born in New Zealand, Butler has represented Australia at under-age level after moving there as a teenager. As a student in The Southport School, he made the Australian schoolboys team in 2008.[21] In 2010, Butler played four games for the Australian under-20 side.[22]

Butler has also played for international invitational side, the Barbarians. He was called up for the team's game against Argentina on 21 November 2015. Butler featured as a replacement in a 49–31 defeat.[23]

Playing statistics

Super Rugby statistics

As of 16 July 2017[5]

Season	Team	Games	Starts	Sub	Mins	Tries	Cons	Pens	Drops	Points	Yel	Red
2012	Reds	2	0	2	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013	Reds	10	1	9	183	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2014	Brumbies	18	18	0	1310	1	0	0	0	5	1	0
2015	Brumbies	18	9	9	782	2	0	0	0	10	0	0
2016	Brumbies	13	11	2	874	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2017	Brumbies	11	4	7	501	2	0	0	0	10	0	0
Total		72	43	29	3682	5	0	0	0	25	2	0

Connacht statistics

As of 19 Mar 2020[5]

Season	Competition	Games	Starts	Sub	Mins	Tries	Cons	Pens	Drops	Points	Yel	Red
2017–18	Pro14	16	15	1	1172	2	0	0	0	10	0	0
	Challenge Cup	3	2	1	232	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
2018–19	Pro14	20	20	0	1535	2	0	0	0	10	1	0
	Challenge Cup	2	2	0	160	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2019–20	Pro14	10	9	0	742	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Champions Cup	5	5	0	400	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		56	53	3	4241	4	0	0	0	20	3	0

References

1. "Connacht sign Butler from Brumbies". Connacht Rugby. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
2. "Kiwi-born Red Butler eyes up Wallaby jersey". stuff.co.nz. 1 June 2011.
3. "Reds stay in the hunt after Highlanders armwrestle". Super XV. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
4. "Reds finalise 2013 Super Rugby EPS". Super XV. 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
5. "Player Statistics". its rugby. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
6. "Brumbies rope in Butler to beef up flanker stocks". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
7. "Brumbies v Chiefs at Canberra". ESPN Scrum. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
8. "White and Pocock named Brumby vice-captains". Super Rugby. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
9. "QF1: Brumbies 9 Highlanders 15". Super Rugby. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
10. "Jarrad Butler says ACT Brumbies Super Rugby breakthrough is just around the corner". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
11. "Butler signs for Connacht". planetrugby.com. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
12. "Hurricanes book semi-final spot". SANZAAR. 21 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
13. "Butler named the UC Vikings captain for 2016". Ultimate Rugby. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
14. "Brisbane City claimed back-to-back NRC titles". ESPN. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
15. "Connacht Sign Jarrad Butler On Three-Year Deal". irishrugby.ie. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
16. "Player Profile: Jarrad Butler". Pro14.
17. "Player: Jarrad Butler". European Professional Club Rugby.
18. "2017/18 Connacht Rugby Award Winners". Connacht Rugby. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
19. "Back row Jarrad Butler succeeds Muldoon as Connacht captain". The42. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
20. "Ulster grind out derby win over Connacht". RTÉ Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
21. "Australian Schoolboys team to play Fiji". Fiji Sun. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
22. "Jarrad Butler makes switch from Brumbies to Connacht". Talking Rugby Union. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
23. "Starting Lineups - Argentina vs Barbarians". Sky Sports. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2019.

External links

• Jarrad Butler Player Profile
• itsrugby.co.uk profile