Decline
After the 1999 World Cup, Burke had been plagued by many injuries which severely limited his return to form. Queenslander Chris Latham was soon competing with him for the fullback position. While his goal kicking and fairly regular try-scoring had saved Australia in many games his injuries would soon take their toll.
He then made a transformation into wing and then outside centre to accommodate Latham's place on the team. Many commentators noted that he was however, restricted from playing more freely while not in his favoured fullback position. In 2003, he was given the position back but did not perform well enough to retain it.
Midway through the 2003 Rugby World Cup he was axed from the starting lineup - drawing mixed reactions; he would be relegated to the bench for the rest of his Wallabies career. In 2004, he found himself dropped from the NSW Waratahs. While he was injured early in that season - he still managed to score 62 points from his first six games; placing him ahead of Andrew Mehrtens in the all time points lead of the Super 12 (now Super Rugby) competition.
Coach Ewen McKenzie's decision to drop Burke drew ire from many in the union fraternity, who accused McKenzie of disloyalty and being shortsighted. This was further questioned when NSW attempted to poach footballer Andrew Johns from rival code league, despite Johns' and Burke's similar ages.
Burke played his last international test on 21 August 2004 against South Africa for the final few minutes.
In 2006, in his latest international appearance, he was named as starting fullback for the World XV Rugby team to play the South African Springboks for their first 2006 game.
Read more about this topic: Matt Burke
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Heroic reverie mocked by clown and knave....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
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