Matthew Burke's famous 80m try from 1996

Wallaby legend Matt Burke will be returning to the NSW Waratahs, this time in the role of kicking coach for the 2009 season. Hearing the news of Burkes involvement in Australian rugby again made us think back to some of his great career highlights, and there were few better than this superb try he scored back in 1996.

There is little doubt that Burke is one of the most successful and respected international fullbacks of recent times, notching up the second highest all time points tally for an Australian Test player.

For the Waratahs he is the highest ever points scorer and the second highest capped player, with his illustrious Sydney career spanning from 1992 to 2004.

After an unfortunate fall out with their coaching staff in 2004 though, he left for the UK and had three enjoyable seasons with the Newcastle Falcons. Burke announced his retirement in May of this year after failing to properly recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee after an injury he picked up in October.

So hes now returned to his beloved Waratahs, and will be the specialist kicking coach in the hope of contributing once again to the team he served so well for twelve years.

“It’s good to be asked to be involved and hopefully I can add to some of the kicking skills and the back three work,” said Burke.

Waratahs Head Coach Chris Hickey said the acquisition of Burke addresses a key element to the game.

Kicking whether it be for points, territory or tactical reasons needs to be practiced and I cant think of many better in the field than Matt Burke, said Hickey.

Matt will bring a great deal to the Waratahs both on and off the field.

So while the future looks rosy for Burke once again, we’ll take a look back at one of the Wallabys greatest ever Bledisloe Cup tries.

At Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in July of 96, Burke went from a standing start to beat two tackles before accelerating away to beat Lomu, dummy Cullen, and put the foot down to score an unforgettable Tri Nations try.

The great moment will be etched in the memory banks and be forever synonymous with the Australian and Waratah legend that is Matthew Burke.

Time:


00:40

Final Score:


32-25 to New Zealand