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]