Matt Burke is a Waratahs and Wallabies LEGEND! He’s also a Dad of four girls, what a LEGEND! We chatted to him about being his incredible rugby career, on being a Father, and what advice he could offer to other Dads of girls.
Dads Stuff – You had a long and distinguished rugby career, what was the highlight?
Matt Burke – I had some great times playing for my country and we went through a fantastic period of time from 1998 to 2002. We won Bledisloe Cups, Tri-Nations tournaments a World Cup and successful series against the British and Irish Lions, but no doubt the 99 World Cup final was something special. Being able to introduce yourself as a world champion has a nice ring to it, even though it was 18 long years ago. But when I look back on those moments it’s not just the wins that capture your imagination it’s the way you contributed in those games.
Dads Stuff – What have you been doing since you retired from rugby?
Matt Burke – I had to find a real job after retiring from playing a hobby for a living. Returning from an overseas stint I dipped my toe in the water in the media game covering print radio and TV. It was literally about learning a whole new skill. For so many years I was the one being spoken about on the field, now I was doing the talking about others on the field. So it’s come full circle. I’m now presenting the sport news on Network 10.
Dads Stuff – Do you miss playing?
Matt Burke – Do I miss playing, f**k yes! Can I say that? As I mentioned before I played a hobby for a living but the downside is that I am busted. I know when its going to rain that’s for sure. What you do miss is the competition, the trash talk with your team mates. Certainly what you don’t miss is the training, but I’ve done my time and happy and on the other side chatting about the game now.
Dads Stuff – Do you still catch up with some of those great names you played with and enjoyed so much success with?
Matt Burke – I actually just caught up with some of the boys on the weekend. Jason Little and David Wilson and within 30 seconds the banter started like we had never left the team. I think we will always be close because of what we are able to achieve and it doesn’t matter how much time passes to the next catch up, it’s going to be the common thread.
Dads Stuff – What advice would you give to parents who’s children want to pursue a professional sports career?
Matt Burke – This is a difficult question because parents see their kids’ performances through rose coloured glasses and sometimes becomes very difficult to make objective calls. In saying that kids are being targeted by individual sports in the early development. I would say don’t just limit the sport to one, but make sure kids understand movement patterns from a number of sports that they can draw upon in their chosen sport. How often do you see elite sports people easily make a transition from their chosen field to something else even of it’s just a hobby. The difficulty that kids find themselves in when they finish school and go straight to professional sports is that the transition is tough. I had the luxury of going to university, finishing a degree and falling into professional sport after playing an amateur game.
Dads Stuff – You have 4 daughters, how do you cope!?
Matt Burke – My girls are great. Coming from sporting background they are into everything as well. As I mentioned before I am a big believer of being exposed to all sports to allow you to be a better athlete. So the athletics helps their touch footy and soccer. The cricket helps their hand eye confidence. Gymnastics helps their balance in dance and so on. I’m actually not one of those parents who screams on the sideline. I have seen first hand yelling parents make kids anxious. So I am all about keeping calm and the way I teach kids to be calm when they play sports is to learn the skills well, then you can play well. So I am forever teaching my ones little keys or tips about the sport, so l it ‘clicks’ so to speak.
Dads Stuff – What advice would you give to Dads who have all girls?
Matt Burke – It’s an interesting question because I don’t see gender as being a barrier. On the other hand I see gender as a social barrier. What I mean by the first statement is that, and I tell my girls this, to go as hard as you can, no matter who you come upon against. They may come back and say but there are boys out there, and my response is I don’t care, be better than them. Remember the skill element. It becomes a confidence thing because girls have always played second fiddle to men and I am seeing that more and more as a dad of girls. That probably answers the second part of my statement. I saw it where I grew up playing rugby and the differences in the female ranks. The CEO of the ARU admitted that the girls gold medal sevens team are underpaid. So I want to make sure my girls get every opportunity forwarded to them, and if I can use my influence along the way, so be it. But it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, and I stress this to my lot, hard work is what it takes to succeed and that is the mantra inside the Burke household.