Matt Burke (rugby, born 1964)

Matthew Peter Burke (born 15 September 1964) is an Australian former rugby union and rugby league footballer. He later served as a Waverley Council lifeguard on Bondi Beach.

Not to be confused with Matt Burke (born 1973), also an Australian rugby union international.

Matt Burke
Personal information
Full nameMatthew Peter Burke
Born (1964-09-15) 15 September 1964
St Margaret's Hospital, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Rugby union
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
Randwick
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1984–87 Australia 23 60
Rugby league
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1988–89 Manly Sea Eagles 28 7 0 0 28
1990–91 Eastern Suburbs 22 3 0 0 12
1992 Balmain Tigers 2 1 0 0 4
Total 52 11 0 0 44
Source: [1]

Early life

Born in St Margaret's Hospital in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills.,[2] Burke attended Waverley College in Sydney's eastern suburbs, graduating in 1981.[3]

Rugby career

Burke made his debut for the Australian national rugby union team on 3 November 1984.[2] He played 23 tests for the Wallabies on the wing and scored 15 tries, including five in the 1987 Rugby World Cup.[2] Between 1988 and 1992, he played rugby league for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Eastern Suburbs Roosters and Balmain Tigers in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership.[4] After a promising start, Burke's professional career stalled and he was relegated to lower grade football with Easts and Balmain.[4]

Post-rugby career

For some time after retirement, Burke ran the Mill Hill pub in Bondi Junction.[5] He later spent two seasons as a Waverley Council lifeguard on Bondi Beach,[5] appearing on the factual television programme Bondi Rescue.[6] As of November 2009, he was a proprietor of the Primavera Espresso Bar in the Sydney CBD.[5]

Personal life

Burke's father, Peter, was a rugby league international and played for Manly-Warringah.[4][7] Burke has three brothers, Brad, Daniel and Patrick.[7]

References
  1. "Matt Burke". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  2. "Matthew Burke". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. "Australian Schools Rugby Representatives". waverley.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  4. "Matt Burke". yesterdayshero.com.au. SmartPack International. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013.
  5. Geddes, Jon (6 November 2009). "Grand squad leaves golden legacy". DailyTelegraph. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019. There was winger Matthew Burke, who played rugby league with Easts, Manly and Balmain and ran the Mill Hill pub in Bondi Junction.
  6. "How to Rescue a Seagull | Best of Bondi Rescue". Bondi Rescue. 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2019 – via YouTube.
  7. "Peter Burke". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
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