Matt Burke

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Matt Burke
MATTHEW BURKE (cropped) .jpg
Player information
Full name Matthew Burke
birthday March 26, 1973
place of birth Sydney , Australia
society
society Career ended
position Goalkeeper
Clubs as active
Years society Games (points)
1990-1996 Eastwood RC
1990-2004 New South Wales 71 (1172)
1996-2004 Waratahs (Super 12) 52 (959)
2004-2008 Newcastle Falcons 81 (430)
National team
Years National team Games (points)
1993-2004 Australia 81 (878)

Status: May 29, 2008
National team June 13, 2004

Matthew Burke (born March 26, 1973 in Sydney ) is a former Australian rugby union player . He played in the position of goalkeeper and scored the second most points for the Australian national team . Only Michael Lynagh is ahead of him in this statistic. He ended his career with the Newcastle Falcons in 2008 .

Career

Burke was part of an Australian national team for the first time in 1990 when he traveled to the United States and Ireland with the Australian Schoolboys . He later also played for the U21 national team until he first appeared for the Wallabies in 1993 when they met South Africa .

In the game for the Bledisloe Cup 1996 he succeeded in an outstanding attempt against the All Blacks . He got the ball deep in his own half, resisted some of the New Zealander's tackles and then ran a 70-meter run to the goal line. However, this could not change the defeat of his team, but the attempt was long remembered by the Australian supporters. Two years later he scored 24 points against New Zealand. No other player has scored so many points against the All Blacks.

In 1998 he injured his shoulder badly and was out for a long time. Despite this forced break, he was nominated for the squad at the 1999 World Cup and played a decisive role in the Australians' title. He contributed 23 points against New Zealand in the quarterfinals, 24 against South Africa in the semifinals and 25 against France in the final.

His injury misery began again after the World Cup triumph, so that he was unable to regain his top form. Due to his inconsistent performance due to injury, Chris Latham was given the final position in the national team, so that Burke was repeatedly used as the outside three-quarters and could not fully convince there.

Burke was part of the Wallabies' squad for the 2003 World Cup , where he was put on the bench for the first time after a few games. Following the World Cup, he also lost his place with the Waratahs. However, coach Ewan McKenzie was sharply criticized for exposing Burke, as he was trying at the same time to find the same old footballer Andrew Johns , who lacked any experience in rugby. However, Burke got late satisfaction with the Matt Burke Trophy honoring Player of the Year since leaving the Waratahs.

He played his last international match for Australia on August 21, 2004 when he came on as a substitute in the final minutes of the game against South Africa.

With the end of his contract with the Waratahs, Burke had numerous offers from various leagues. He ultimately decided on the Newcastle Falcons and signed a contract there until 2008. In February 2007, he received a British passport, but remained an Australian citizen. The passport application had become necessary due to a rule in the Guinness Premiership , which only allows one non-EU foreigner per team. He was voted Player of the Year for the Falcons once.

In 2006 Burke was elected to the world selection ( World XV ) and played with this against the Springboks. To date, he is the player with the most international matches (54) for Australia in the bottom position and is one of the ten players with the most points in the world. He is in second place in the Super 14 and Tri Nations points lists , behind Andrew Mehrtens from New Zealand.

In May 2008, he announced his retirement due to persistent injuries. On August 8, 2008, the Falcons host a farewell game for Burke against the Australian Super 14 team Western Force .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Planet Rugby: Burke becomes a Brit!
  2. ↑ Planet Rugby: Burke brings his career to an end
  3. ↑ Planet Rugby: Burke's final flight with Falcons

See also

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Burke, Matt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Burke, Matthew
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian rugby union player
DATE OF BIRTH March 26, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Sydney , Australia