Mike Burton (rugby union) Mike Burton (rugby union) Michael Alan "Mike" Burton (born 18 December 1945 in Maidenhead) is a former English rugby union footballer, who won a reputation as an uncompromising prop forward for Gloucester, England and the British and Irish Lions. Burton arrived at Kingsholm from the local club Longlevens RFC and made his debut in the Gloucester front row at the age of 18 on 14 November, 1964. He went on to make 366 appearances before retiring in 1978. He was captain of Gloucester in the 1975 season and played 50 times at provincial level for Gloucestershire including 39 appearances in
Kingsholm Stadium in 1934 and, in its place, was built the stand that is today known as The Shed. In May 2008, the Barbarian F.C. and Ireland national rugby union team played a match at Kingsholm. Kingsholm has hosted eight other international matches, including one pool game in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and four pool games in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, hosting Tonga, Georgia, Scotland, Argentina, the United States and Japan. Kingsholm was also one of the venues for the 2000 Rugby League World Cup where, on 29 October, it hosted the group 2 game between New Zealand and Lebanon.