Matthew Coleman Burke was born in Brisbane on 26 March 1973 and educated at Carlingford School in New South Wales and St Joseph's College. He played at full-back for the Eastwood club where he was also a development officer and at provincial level for New South Wales, then the Waratahs in Super 12 where he set a new tournament record of 959 points. Matt Burke became Australia's most-capped full-back with 81 tests - and 878 points - between 1993 and 2004. He played for Australia against the Barbarians in 1996 at Twickenham when he scored 24 points, including two tries. In 2001 he was on the wing for the Barbarians against South Africa at the Millennium Stadium and kicked 11 points. In 2004 he played at fly-half and captain for the Barbarians against Wales. He joined Newcastle Falcons in 2004 and played in the English Premiership.