Career
Burton made his debut in the Gloucester front row at the age of 18 on 14 November 1964. He went on to make 360 appearances before retiring in 1978. He was captain of the same club in 1975.
Gloucester was his only club but he played 40 times for Gloucestershire in the county championship winning it four times.
England took him on the tours of New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1975 where he became the first Englishman to be sent off at international level In the second Test against Australia ("The Battle of Brisbane") Burton was sensationally sent off after just three minutes by local Queensland referee Bob Burnett for a late tackle on the Australian winger Doug Osborne.
The match had started with punch-up between the packs and the disciplinary hearing that followed ruled that no further punishment was necessary. His autobiography Never Stay Down told of a tough upbringing in post war Britain and his single minded determination to succeed.
After retiring from rugby he became a successful businessman in the field of corporate hospitality, specialist sports travel and event management.
