New captain Matt Philip says rift between Miles Amatosero and Angus Scott-Young won’t impact team
“There hasn’t been any impact on the team connection. We all care about both players. As I said, it’s a really unfortunate incident, but I think we’re ready to move on,” Philip said.
“Obviously Miles [will] For now we will spend some time away from the club but I am sure that when he returns we will be on a common front. Both players will learn from this and we are happy to move forward. We have super connectivity here at the Waratahs.”
Miles Amatosero was suspended for two trial matches.Credit: Steven Siewert
Asked if he would have a role in brokering a reconciliation between Amatosero and Scott-Young before the start of the season, Philip said: “I’ve spoken to both of them… they’re very happy to get together, talk, put this behind us. It was an unfortunate incident.”
“We train at high intensity here, you know. [in] Sometimes very hot weather. This will happen. It’s very unfortunate and I don’t think it will happen again, but yeah, we want to get results here and we’ve been showing that kind of intensity in pre-season.
“I am confident that they will both put this behind them and that it will not have any impact on the team culture or connection.
“If we talk to the players from last year, the difference between where we are now and where we were at this stage in pre-season last year is very simple, so yeah, we’re pretty happy to say that. [fight] to bed.”
Philip grew up as a Tahs supporter on Sydney’s northern beaches and later emerged as NSW under-20s captain at the University of Sydney and the Waratahs academy.
But the captain will make his Super Rugby debut for NSW on February 13 after Philip was forced to head west and join the Western Force as a starter in 2015. He then joined the Rebels in 2018 and moved offshore in 2020, playing for Pau in France and then Yokohama Canon Eagles in Japan.
When McKellar called to return he said he had missed the chance to sign with NSW.
“I’ve kind of come full circle. I had to go a lot of places over the course of a decade to be able to come back and play here,” Philip said. “[Becoming captain] Probably the greatest moment of my career. I grew up supporting Tahs, I’m a New South Welshman.
“Me and Jake Gordon are really good friends. We played together through our juniors and have been friends for a long time and he’s done a great job over the last five years. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure and expectation that comes with being captain.”
“It will be great to have him by my side throughout this process… I will rely on him a lot throughout the season.”
