Introduction
- Not to be confused with Matt Burke (born 1973), also an Australian rugby union international.
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.
Early life
Born in Gosford on the New South Wales coast, Burke attended Waverley College in Sydney's eastern suburbs, graduating in 1981.
Rugby career
Burke made his debut for the Australian national rugby union team on 3 November 1984. He played 23 tests for the Wallabies on the wing and scored 15 tries, including five in the 1987 Rugby World Cup. Between 1988 and 1992, he played rugby league for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Eastern Suburbs Roosters and Balmain Tigers in the NSWRL Premiership. After a promising start, Burke's professional career stalled and he was relegated to lower grade football with Easts and Balmain.
Post-rugby career
For some time after retirement, Burke ran the Mill Hill pub in Bondi Junction. He later spent two seasons as a Waverley Council lifeguard on Bondi Beach, appearing on the factual television programme Bondi Rescue. As of November 2009, he was a proprietor of the Primavera Espresso Bar in the Sydney CBD.
Personal life
Burke's father, Peter, was a rugby league international and played for Manly-Warringah. Burke has three brothers, Brad, Daniel and Patrick.