Burke's final flight with Falcons
August 07 2008
Wallabies legend Matthew Burke will be given a grand send-off by the Newcastle Falcons on Friday when the Guinness Premiership outfit hosts the Western Force.
Burke, a World Cup winner with Australia in 1999, announced his retirement from all forms of rugby in May after failing to fully recover from a serious knee injury.
The 35-year-old, who joined Newcastle in 2004 and went on to score 26 tries and a total of 430 points in his 81 games for the club, will be honoured during the Force-Falcons clash, where he will address the fans at half-time.
Despite retiring months ago, Burke had one final hurrah for the Falcons earlier this week when he led them to victory in a charity Twenty20 cricket encounter against the Force.
Burke said he had nothing but fond memories of his time at Tyneside.
"When I played at the Falcons the only person I had to impress was myself," Burke wrote on the club's website.
"I wasn't playing for rep jerseys, those days had long gone, what I was playing for was to have fun and enjoy what I do well with my mates.
"And along the way if I could help my team-mates go on to get further honours, because in some small way I had helped them, that would give me satisfaction. I hope I have been able to do the club proud, the supporters proud and they can say that M.Burke wore the black shirt with pride."
Force coach John Mitchell has opted for a mix of youth and experience for the pre-season encounter, which kicks off the Force's five-week tour of the UK where the Western Australia outfit will play four Guinness Premiership outfits and two regional academy sides.
The side, captained by 20-year-old flanker David Pocock, includes Australian international Scott Staniforth and eight-times capped Wallaby Tai McIsaac, who has been listed on the reserves bench.
With Matt Giteau on Wallabies duties, 18-year-old James O'Connor will assume the number ten role while Chris O'Young has been named at scrum-half.
Lock Pat O'Connor will make his first Force appearance since 2006 after recovering from back-to-back knee reconstructions, while former Reds winger Caleb Brown has been named on the bench.
"We will certainly look to mix our squad around during the tour to provide the whole squad with some quality time on the field," Mitchell said.
"With that said we have named players in positions they are competing for ahead of our next Super 14 season.
"We aren't just plugging gaps with different players, so it will be interesting to see which players emerge on this tour."