Former World Cup winner Matthew Burke could be called on as Australia’s potential insurance policy for this year’s tournament as cover for the sidelined Chris Latham, reports said on Monday.
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has confirmed that 34-year-old Burke, who last played for the Wallabies in 2004 before heading to England to play club rugby, had been sounded out about the possibility.
Reports said selectors have earmarked the veteran of 81 caps, who won the cup in 1999, as potential cover for Latham, who is out of rugby until June or July after a serious injury in pre-season training.
Burke, the former New South Wales Waratahs captain, is now playing with Newcastle in England, but might be called upon for the Wallabies’ domestic Test programme starting in May.
The Wallabies will play internationals against Wales and Fiji, before embarking on a Tri-Nations campaign against the All Blacks and Springboks in July and August.
They open their World Cup bid against Japan in Lyon on September 8.
”It’s fair to say there has been a discussion on Matt, but it’s very early and we’re only looking at contingency issues that might fall into place,” ARU general manager Pat Wilson told Monday’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
”Our first preference unequivocally is to use players playing Super 14 in Australia. This is simply looking ahead at ‘what if’ situations.”
But another ARU source told the newspaper enquiries about a recall for Burke, Australia’s most-capped fullback, were already well advanced.
Any moves to bring him back would require the ARU exempting Burke from an existing policy that limits Test selection to Australia-based players.
Burke’s agent, John Fordham, said of the reports: ”Since Matt has been away there have been a number of enquiries on this very point of contingency.
”I remember it happened around the 2005 end-of-season tour to Europe. There has always been interest in what his position would be if he did get a call.”
The odds of that invitation being issued are shortening as selectors consider their fullback options in the absence of Latham, who had a knee reconstruction last month and is hoping to make a return late in the Tri-Nations series.
While Burke has been in form at the Newcastle Falcons, the home-grown candidates to take over from Latham include Clinton Schifcofske and Andrew Walker at the Queensland Reds, Peter Hewat at the Waratahs, Mark Gerrard at the ACT Brumbies and Drew Mitchell and Cameron Shepherd at the Western Force. — Sapa-AFP