Matt Philip
Full nameMatthew Philip
Date of birth (1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 (age 29)
Place of birthMona Vale, Australia
Height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight117 kg (18 st 6 lb; 258 lb)
SchoolSt Augustine's College, Brookvale
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014−2016 Sydney University 19 (0)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014−2015 Sydney Stars 15 (10)
2016 Southland 10 (0)
2017 Perth Spirit 3 (0)
2018 Melbourne Rising 3 (0)
2020–2021 Pau 13 (10)
2024– Yokohama Canon Eagles ()
Correct as of 4 July 2023
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016−2017 Force 13 (5)
2018–2020 Rebels 46 (30)
2022–2023 Rebels 17 (15)
Correct as of 16 June 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012 Australia Schoolboys
2014 Australia Under-20 8 (0)
2017– Australia 31 (0)
Correct as of 24 September 2023

Matt Philip (born 7 March 1994) is an Australian rugby union footballer who currently plays as a lock for the Melbourne Rebels.[1] He previously played for the Western Force and also the Perth Spirit in Australia's National Rugby Championship.

Philip previously played for the Sydney Stars in 2014 and 2015,[2] and joined Southland for the Mitre 10 Cup in 2016.

Early life

Philip hails from New South Wales and represented Australia at schoolboy level in 2012, and under-20 level in 2014.[3]

Rugby career

Philip initially made his way in the game turning out for Sydney University in the Shute Shield where his form earned him a call-up to the Sydney Stars squad ahead of the inaugural National Rugby Championship in 2014. He made 15 appearances for the Stars across two seasons and scored two tries in that time.[2][4]

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 break.[5] He was subsequently named in the Force's squad for their two-match tour of South Africa and debuted as an early blood replacement for Rory Walton in the game against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. He made three substitute appearances in total during the 2016 Super Rugby season.[1] Later in 2016, he joined Southland in the Mitre 10 Cup.[6][7]

In 2017, Philip was a first-choice starter at lock for the Force.[8] After his strong performances for Perth Spirit in the NRC,[9] he was invited into the Barbarians team to play Australia in Sydney,[10] and then selected the Australian squad for the 2017 Wallabies tour.[9][11] He made his test debut for Australia in the team's win against Japan on 4 November 2017, replacing lock Adam Coleman in the second half.[12][13]

Super Rugby statistics

As of 3 June 2023[14]
Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red
2016 Force 3 0 3 84 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017 Force 10 8 2 634 1 0 0 0 5 0 0
2018 Rebels 16 12 4 973 2 0 0 0 10 0 0
2019 Rebels 15 14 1 1037 3 0 0 0 15 1 0
2020 Rebels 6 6 0 458 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020 AU Rebels 9 8 1 679 1 0 0 0 5 1 0
2022 Rebels 14 14 0 1120 3 0 0 0 15 0 0
2023 Rebels 3 3 0 186 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 76 65 11 5,171 10 0 0 0 50 2 0

References

  1. ^ a b "Whirlwind debut for young lock Matt Philip". Western Force. 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Matt Philip Sydney Stars Player Profile". Sydney Stars Rugby. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Matt Phillips (Matt Philip) – profile stats (international)". It's Rugby. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Matt Phillips (Matt Philip) – profile stats". It's Rugby. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Matt Philip earns Super Rugby call-up". Rugby News. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Australian lock Matthew Philip arrives to help Southland Stags in 2016 campaign". Rugby Heaven. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Meet the 2016 Southland Stags squad for the 2016 national provincial season". Rugby Heaven. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Matt Phillips (Matt Philip) – Super Rugby season 2017 - games started". It's Rugby. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Uncapped locks make Wallabies tour squad: Matt Philip and Blake Enever are bolters in the Wallabies spring tour squad". Special Broadcasting Service. 29 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Alan Jones names partial Barbarians squad". Special Broadcasting Service. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  11. ^ Decent, Tom (29 October 2017). "Blake Enever, Matt Philip, Jack Maddocks and Liam Wright the bolters for Wallabies spring tour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Spirit lock Matt Philip in line for test debut". RugbyWA. 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Japan v Australia at Yokohama". ESPN Scrum. 4 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Matthew Phillip – profile stats". It's Rugby. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
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