Matt Philip (born 7 March 1994) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer who currently plays as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

for the . He previously played for the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...

and

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...

in Super Rugby, and signed with the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

ahead of the British & Irish Lions tour in 2025.

Early life

Philip hails from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and represented Australia at schoolboy level in 2012, and under-20 level in 2014.

Rugby career

Philip initially made his way in the game turning out for

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in the Shute Shield where his form earned him a call-up to the Sydney Stars squad ahead of the inaugural

National Rugby Championship The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following t ...

in 2014. He made 15 appearances for the Stars across two seasons and scored two tries in that time. Philip's rise to the Super Rugby level was a swift one as an injury crisis in the Force's second row saw him cross Australia from Sydney to Perth to train with them during the

2016 mid-year rugby union internationals The 2016 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) are international rugby union matches that were mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the June international window. The ma ...

break. He was subsequently named in the Force's squad for their two-match tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and debuted as an early blood replacement for Rory Walton in the game against the in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. He made three substitute appearances in total during the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. Later in 2016, he joined in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mi ...

. In 2017, Philip was a first-choice starter at lock for the Force. After his strong performances for Perth Spirit in the NRC, he was invited into the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

team to play Australia in Sydney, and then selected the

squad for the 2017 Wallabies tour. He made his test debut for Australia in the team's win against on 4 November 2017, replacing lock Adam Coleman in the second half.

Super Rugby statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Matt 1994 births Living people Australia international rugby union players Australian rugby union players Perth Spirit players Rugby union locks Western Force players Sydney Stars players Southland rugby union players Australian expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Melbourne Rebels players Melbourne Rising players Australian expatriate rugby union players in France Section Paloise players Rugby union players from Sydney Yokohama Canon Eagles players Australian expatriate rugby union players in Japan 2023 Rugby World Cup players Sydney University Football Club players People educated at St Augustine's College, Sydney 21st-century Australian sportsmen