Matt Burke

Who is Matt Burke?

Matthew Burke is a retired Australian rugby union player and The Sport Presenter on Sydney's Ten Eyewitness News. He was considered to be the best fullback in the world during an era of Australian success in world rugby during the late 1990s and early 2000s - ahead of notable contemporaries such as New Zealand All Blacks fullback Christian Cullen.

He is otherwise remembered for his points contributions as the primary goal-kicker and a somewhat regular try-scorer for the 'Wallabies' - which statistically enabled Australia to win several tournaments including the 1999 Rugby World Cup, multiple Bledisloe Cups as well as the sole Australian series victory against the British and Irish Lions in 2001. At one stage of his career, he held at least 10 different points records in test rugby alone. In 1999, as part of celebrations to mark 125 years of Australian Rugby, a panel of experts rated him the best fullback in Australian Rugby history.

When he retired from international rugby in 2004 he was the leading points scorer in the multinational Super Rugby Competition. He is still the most capped fullback and the second highest all time scorer for Australia in international Test rugby.