Jonah Holmes (born 24 July 1992)[1] is a professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. He scored two tries in six appearances for Wales before moving to Ealing, which effectively ended his international career.[2]
Birth name | Jonah Holmes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 24 July 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Stockport, Greater Manchester, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb; 216 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Andy Holmes (uncle) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editHolmes was born in Stockport, England. He played junior rugby for London Scottish until the age of 16[3] but then left to only play with his school St Benedict's School, Ealing where he was considered a star in the making.[4]
Professional career
editHolmes initially played scrum-half, but during a loan spell with Henley Hawks, he switched to the back three, playing wing and full-back.[5] At the suggestion of Lyn Jones, who was his coach during a brief spell at London Welsh, he concentrated solely on the back three.[3]
In 2013 Holmes joined Leeds Carnegie, since renamed Yorkshire Carnegie, on loan from London Wasps.[6] Holmes scored six tries in his first six games for the Yorkshire side.[7] Holmes made the move permanent in the summer, as part of a swap deal with Glyn Hughes.[8] On 23 December 2013, after scoring 22 tries in 34 games, signed a new long term deal with Yorkshire.[9]
On 1 June 2017 it was announced that Holmes would join Leicester Tigers for the 2017–18 season.[10] Holmes scored 10 tries in 11 games during the 2017/18 season and provided a Man of the Match performance against Northampton Saints at Twickenham in October 2018, he was called up to the Wales squad on 16 October 2018.[11] He qualifies through his grandparents.[11] Holmes made his international debut for Wales on 17 November 2018 against Tonga at the Millennium Stadium. Holmes left Leicester at the end of the 2019–20 season, a year before his contract was due to end to join the Dragons in Wales.[12] On 20 September 2020, Holmes made his debut against Bristol Bears in a Challenge Cup quarter final defeat.
International tries
editTry | Opponent | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canada | Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | 2021 Summer Internationals | 3 July 2021 | Win |
2 |
Personal life
editHolmes is the nephew of Olympic gold medal-winning rower Andy Holmes and is a graduate in biomedical sciences from Birkbeck, University of London.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Jonah Holmes". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Wales star ends international career as move to English rugby's second tier is officially announced". WalesOnline. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ a b "20 Questions: Jonah Holmes – Yorkshire Carnegie wing". The Rugby Paper. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "St Benedict's old boy Jonah Holmes has been named in Wales' autumn squad". chiswickherald.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ "Young Gun: Jonah Holmes – Wasps and Henley full-back". The Rugby Paper. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Jonah Holmes is ideal for Leeds Carnegie". Bradford Telegraph & Argus. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Holmes relishing his education at Leeds". 8 February 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Wasps swap Jonah Holmes for Yorkshire's Glyn Hughes". 26 September 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Future looks bright for Holmes with new deal". Yorkshire Post. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Tigers add duo to backline options" (Press release). Leicester Tigers. 1 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Jonah Holmes: Leicester fullback included in Wales' Autumn Internationals squad". ESPN. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ "Tigers add international ahead of next season". Leicester Tigers. Leicester Football Club. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "Championship Tales: Jonah Holmes". RFU.com. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.