Full name | Matthew Philip | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 7 March 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Mona Vale, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 117 kg (18 st 6 lb; 258 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | St Augustine's College, Brookvale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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.
Philip hails from New South Wales and represented Australia at schoolboy level in 2012, and under-20 level in 2014. [3]
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]
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 |
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. Following their axing they played in the National Rugby Championship in 2018 and 2019, replacing the Perth Spirit, and Global Rapid Rugby from 2018 to 2020, an Indo-Pacific competition organised by Andrew Forrest.
Drew Alan Mitchell is a former Australian rugby union professional player. He played on the wing or as fullback. Up to the 2006 season he played for the Queensland Reds. He played for the Western Force for the 2007–09 Super 14 seasons. From 2010 to 2013 he played for the New South Wales Waratahs. Since 2013 he has played for RC Toulon. He made his debut for Australia in 2005 and is Australia's highest try scorer in World Cup history.
Nathan Sharpe is a retired professional Australian rugby union player. He began his rugby career at the Queensland Reds in 1999 before joining the newly created Western Force in 2006, where he captained the club until his retirement in 2012. He played 116 test matches for Australia, including 20 as captain. His usual position was lock.
Kurtley James Beale is an Australian professional rugby union representative player who has made over 90 national representative appearances in a ten-year playing career at the world-class level. He is of Aboriginal descent, has had a long Super Rugby career with the New South Wales Waratahs and has played for the Melbourne Rebels and the Wasps club in England. Beale usually plays at full-back or centre but can play fly-half or winger. In 2011 Beale received the John Eales Medal, awarded to Australian rugby's Player of the Year.
Matthew Papali'i To'omua is an Australian rugby union professional player who has played close to 60 times for Australia since 2013. He plays for the Mitsubishi Dynaboars in the Japanese League One and his usual position is at fly-half or inside centre. He has previously played for the Brumbies in Australia, for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby and for Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby.
James David O'Connor, often referred to his initials JOC, is an Australian professional rugby union player who currently plays as a back with the Super Rugby Pacific team the Crusaders. Known for his versatility on the field, he has played multiple positions in the backline, including wing and fullback. However O'Connor's primary position is at fly-half or centre. He made his debut with the Perth-based Super Rugby team, the Western Force, and has since played for two other Super Rugby teams. O'Connor has also played domestically with English teams London Irish and Sale Sharks, as well as French team Toulon.
Sitaleki Timani, is a Tongan-born, Australian professional rugby union footballer. He made his test debut for the Wallabies in 2011. His usual position is lock. Timani's professional club career spanned eight seasons of Top 14 in France and seven seasons of Super Rugby in Australia. He currently plays for the RC Toulonnais in the Top 14.
Matt Hodgson is an Australian sports administrator and former professional rugby union player for the Western Force and the Wallabies, the Australian national team. He is currently head of rugby at Global Rapid Rugby which launched its Asia-Pacific Showcase competition in 2019.
Cadeyrn Neville is an Australian rugby union player. His regular playing position is lock. He represents the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby.
David McDuling is a rugby union footballer for the Waratahs in Super Rugby. He usually plays as a lock, and previously played with the Reds and Sharks Super Rugby teams. He also played for Canterbury in the New Zealand Mitre 10 Cup competition.
Jed Holloway is an Australian professional rugby union player, currently with Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. He previously played for NSW Country Eagles, Waratahs and the Wallabies. His usual playing positions are number 8, flanker or lock.
Blake Enever is an Australian rugby union footballer who plays as a lock.
William Skelton is an Australian rugby union player, who plays as a lock for La Rochelle in the French Top 14 competition.
Peter Samu is an Australian professional rugby union player who is currently a loose forward for the Union Bordeaux Begles in the French Top14 competition. He has represented Australia in international rugby. After several seasons playing in Australia and England, Samu gained his professional career breakthrough in New Zealand, firstly with Tasman in the Mitre 10 Cup and then the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
Richard Hardwick is a Namibian professional rugby union player who plays for the Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship and Namibia as a loose forward. He previously played for the Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby, while he played for Perth Spirit and Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship.
Jack Maddocks is an Australian professional rugby union player for the Section Paloise in Top 14. His preferred position is fullback, but he can also play on the wing.
Jake Gordon is an Australian rugby union player who plays for Super Rugby franchise New South Wales Waratahs, and the Wallabies.
Izack Rodda is an Australian professional rugby union player. He signed for Provence Rugby for the 2024/25 season after leaving Western Force in Super Rugby. Rodda previously played for the Queensland Reds and French Top 14 team Lyon OU. He is capped for the Australian national team and played at the Rugby World Cup in 2019. His regular position is lock.
Folau Fainga'a is an Australian professional rugby union player who currently plays at hooker for the Western Force. He previously played for the ACT Brumbies and the NSW Country Eagles. Folau is currently signed on with Rugby Australia and was selected for the Australian national rugby team, the Wallabies, for the 2022 season.
Liam Wright is an Australian professional rugby union player who co-captains the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. He also played for Queensland Country in Australia's NRC. His usual position is flanker. He is also the current captain of Australia in international rugby, receiving the honour under coach Joe Schmidt for the Wallabies’ 2024 Test series against Wales and Georgia.