Jarrad Butler

Jarrad Butler (born 20 July 1991) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He primarily plays as a flanker but also plays at number 8.

Butler most recently played professionally for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14 and its successor tournament, the United Rugby Championship, spending seven seasons at the Sportsgrounds, in Galway. Before joining Connacht, Butler played in Super Rugby, first for the Queensland for two seasons and then for four seasons with the ACT . While playing for the Brumbies, Butler also played for National Rugby Championship side the Canberra Vikings, where he served as captain.

Following his release by Connacht in 2024, he continued to play and began to coach in Galway at All-Ireland League level with Division 2 side Galwegians, winning the 2025-26 All-Ireland League Division 2B title.

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. 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.

Club career Reds During the 2012 Super Rugby season, Butler joined the on a short-term contract from the Australian Rugby Union academy to cover an injury crisis. He played again in the last game of the regular season against . Butler's performances in 2012 prompted head coach Ewen McKenzie to name him in the franchise's Extended Playing Squad for 2013. Butler was capped a further 10 times throughout the 2013 Super Rugby season, with all but one of these appearances coming from the bench.

Brumbies Butler joined Canberra-based side, the ahead of the 2014 Super Rugby season. The move saw him earn far greater game time, starting in all 18 of the side's matches that season, 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.

In the 2016 season, he featured in 13 of 16 games for the side, starting on all but two occasions. Butler had a slow start to the 2017 season, with a hamstring injury keeping him out of the opening rounds. He went on to play in a total of 11 games for the season, starting in just four of them. He played his final game for the Brumbies on 21 July 2017 in a quarter-final defeat to the . During his time with the Brumbies, he made a total of 60 appearances, scoring five tries. and started all 10 of the side's games as they finished runners up to Brisbane City. Butler retained the captaincy for the 2016 season, 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. At the end of his first season, Butler was named Connacht's Players' Player of the Year. 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. 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.

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. In 2010, Butler played four games for the Australian under-20 side.

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

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

Connacht statistics