A sudden shortage of locks in Australian rugby union has opened the door for Matt Philip to reclaim his Wallabies jersey, but the Melbourne Rebels player says that the uncertainties wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic have left him with a difficult choice.
The Australian yesterday named Philip among 16 Rebels players either set to leave the Super Rugby club or seriously considering it, underscoring the challenge Rugby Australia faces to retain talent.
Linked with a move to Section Paloise Bearn Pyrenees, commonly referred to as Pau, in France’s Top 14, Philip said that he had yet to settle his playing future, and that his decision could come down to a mental tug-of-war between a Wallabies jersey and the security of a European contract.
Photo: Reuters
“I’ve been speaking to some European clubs — it’s just talks at the moment and I’m still just focusing on what’s in front of me at the Rebels,” the 26-year-old, who won three caps for Australia in 2017, said in an interview. “It’s an exciting thing about rugby, you do get these opportunities overseas, but at the same time I’ve grown up here loving the Wallabies, so it’s not the easiest thing in the world. A lot of thought will have to go into it.”
Should Philip decide his future lies outside Australia, it would add to incoming Wallabies coach Dave Rennie’s problems in the second row.
Wallabies lock Izack Rodda and two of his Queensland Reds teammates terminated their contracts after refusing to take pay cuts agreed by Rugby Australia and the players’ union.
One of the other Queensland rebels, Harry Hockings, is a towering 21-year-old lock seen as having a big Wallabies future.
Both are expected to move abroad and be unavailable for selection for the Wallabies, whose second-row stocks were already looking thin.
The trio were pilloried by former players and pundits for “deserting” Australia in its time of need, but Philip said no one had the right to judge given the uncertainties facing the domestic game.
Super Rugby was suspended in March and is highly unlikely to resume this year due to travel curbs and border controls, leaving the nation’s players with little security about their long-term pay.
“People don’t understand others’ circumstances and it’s been a tough period for everyone,” Philip said. “At the end of the day, rugby is still a business and in the business world — not that I’ve had much to do with it — this happens all the time.”
Rugby is nearing a return in Australia in a domestic tournament featuring the nation’s four Super Rugby teams plus Perth-based Western Force.
Philip was in good form for the Rebels before the season was suspended and hopes to pick up where he left off when the domestic tournament begins.
While he relishes the home derbies, like other local players he thinks that Super Rugby, with its long-haul trips to South Africa, Argentina and Japan, has passed its shelf life.
“Something needs to happen, I’m not the guy to tell you what that is, but something does need to change to help rugby thrive again in Australia — like it should be,” Philip said.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS