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]
Early life
Holmes 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
Holmes 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.
