Oliver Holmes (rugby league)

Oliver Holmes

Personal information
Full name	Oliver Josh Holmes [1]
Born	(1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 (age 32) Altofts, West Yorkshire, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	15 st 4 lb (97 kg) [2]
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Loose forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2010–21 Castleford Tigers 229 45 0 0 180 2022 Warrington Wolves 24 3 0 0 12 2023–24 Leigh Leopards 28 3 0 0 12 2025– Hull F.C. 0 0 0 0 0 Total 281 51 0 0 204 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2018 England 1 0 0 0 0 2018 England Knights 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [3] [4] As of 5 October 2024

Oliver Holmes (born 7 August 1992) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for Hull FC in the Super League.

He has played at representative level for England and the England Knights. He has previously played for the Castleford Tigers, where he spent the majority of his club career, as well as the Warrington Wolves and the Leigh Leopards in Super League.

Background

Holmes was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England.

Club career

Castleford Tigers

Holmes made his senior Castleford debut against the Huddersfield Giants on 9 April 2010.

Holmes scored a try in the 2014 Challenge Cup final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium. ^{[5] [4]}

Holmes played in Castleford's victory over Wakefield Trinity in August 2017, to help the club secure their first ever top-flight league title. He also played in the 2017 Super League Grand Final defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

On 17 July 2021, he played for Castleford in their 2021 Challenge Cup final loss against St Helens. ^[9]

Warrington Wolves

In June 2021, Holmes signed a three-year contract to join the Warrington Wolves from 2022 until the end of the 2024 season. ^[10]

On 11 August 2022, during a match game between Toulouse Olympique and Warrington, Holmes was assaulted by Toulouse player Corey Norman who stuck his hand in Holmes' buttocks. Norman received an eight game suspension and £500 fine. ^[11]

Leigh Leopards

On 20 October 2022, Holmes signed a contract to join the newly promoted Leigh side. ^[12]

On 12 August 2023, Holmes played for Leigh in their 2023 Challenge Cup final victory over Hull Kingston Rovers. ^[13] Holmes played 19 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. ^[14]

Hull FC

On 9 July 2024, it was announced that Holmes had signed for Hull FC in the Super League from the 2025 season. ^[15]

International career

In July 2018, he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad. ^[16]

Holmes made his England debut on 17 October 2018 in England's 44–6 win over France at Leigh Sports Village. ^{[17] [18]}

In 2018, he was selected for the England Knights on their tour of Papua New Guinea. ^[19] He played in the Knights' 12–16 victory at the Lae Football Stadium in Lae, and their 32–22 loss at the Oil Search National Football Stadium in Port Moresby. ^{[20] [21] [22]}

Club statistics

Appearances and points in all competitions by year

Club	Season	Tier	App	T	G	DG	Pts
Castleford Tigers	2010	Super League	5	0	0	0	0
	2011	Super League	19	1	0	0	4
	2012	Super League	23	4	0	0	16
	2013	Super League	23	2	0	0	8
	2014	Super League	32	7	0	0	28
	2015	Super League	28	5	0	0	20
	2016	Super League	15	5	0	0	20
	2017	Super League	10	1	0	0	4
	2018	Super League	27	9	0	0	36
	2019	Super League	15	3	0	0	12
	2020	Super League	12	2	0	0	8
	2021	Super League	20	6	0	0	24
	Total		229	45	0	0	180
Warrington Wolves	2022	Super League	24	3	0	0	12
Leigh Leopards	2023	Super League	22	1	0	0	4
	2024	Super League	6	2	0	0	8
	Total		28	3	0	0	12
Hull F.C.	2025	Super League	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			281	51	0	0	204

As of match played 5 October 2024

References

1. "Oliver Josh Holmes personal appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
2. "Oliver Holmes biography". Castleford Tigers. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
3. "Player Summary: Oliver Holmes". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
4. "Oliver Holmes - Playing Career". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
5. "Leeds lift Challenge Cup after Ryan Hall's double stuns Castleford". Guardian. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
6. "Castleford 6-24 Leeds: Grand Final 2017 – as it happened". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
7. "Grand Final 2017: Castleford 6-24 Leeds Rhinos". BBC Sport. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
8. "Danny McGuire guides Leeds to Grand Final success over Castleford". Guardian. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
9. "Challenge Cup: St Helens beat Castleford 26-12 for first Wembley victory since 2008". www.bbc.co.uk.
10. "Holmes's signs for Warrington wolves for the 2022 super league season". warringtonguardian.co.uk/sport/wolves/wolvesnews/19373425.warrington-wolves-sign-oliver-holmes-peter-matautia/.
11. "Australian rugby league player banned for placing 'a hand between the buttocks' of an opponent". cnn. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
12. "Leigh Leopards: Promoted side unveil rebrand and nine new signings for Super League 2023". www.skysports.com.
13. "Challenge Cup final: Hull KR 16-17 Leigh Leopards - Leigh claim first Wembley final win in 52 years". www.bbc.co.uk.
14. "Leigh Leopards 2023 season in review". www.leighleopards.co.uk.
15. "Leigh's Chamberlain and Holmes to join Hull FC next season". BBC Sport. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
16. "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
17. "England 44-6 France: Tom Johnstone scores hat-trick in warm-up for New Zealand Test series". 17 October 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
18. "Tom Johnstone marks debut with England hat-trick against France". Guardian. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
19. "Hughes to lead England Knights on Papua New Guinea adventure". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
20. "Papua New Guinea v England Knights - NRL match centre". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
21. "Papua New Guinea vs England Knights". WWOS. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
22. "Oliver Holmes called up to the England Knights squad". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2 July 2019.

External links

• Castleford Tigers profile
• SL profile