Oliver Holmes (rugby league)

Oliver Holmes

Personal information
Full name	Oliver Josh Holmes [1]
Born	(1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 (age 31) 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 228 45 0 0 180 2022 Warrington Wolves 24 3 0 0 12 2023– Leigh Leopards 0 0 0 0 0 Total 252 48 0 0 192 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 20 October 2022

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

He has played at representative level for England and the England Knights. He had played his entire professional club career with Castleford, his hometown club, before one season at the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. ^{[3] [4]}

Background

Holmes was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England.

Club career

Holmes made his senior Castleford début 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] In June 2021, Holmes's signed a three-year contract to join the Warrington Wolves, for the 2022 season, 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] 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 19 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. ^[14]

International career

In July 2018 he was selected in the England Knights Performance squad. ^[15]

Holmes made his England début on 17 October 2018 in England's 44–6 win over France at Leigh Sports Village. ^{[16] [17]}

In 2018 he was selected for the England Knights on their tour of Papua New Guinea. ^[18] 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. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

References

1. Companies House
2. "Castleford Tigers 1st Team Oliver Holmes". Official Castleford Tigers web site. Castleford Tigers Rugby League Football Club Ltd. 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
3. "Statistics at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
4. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2018. 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. "Ten new additions in England Knights squad". loverugbyleague. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
16. "England 44-6 France: Tom Johnstone scores hat-trick in warm-up for New Zealand Test series". 17 October 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
17. "Tom Johnstone marks debut with England hat-trick against France". Guardian. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
18. "Hughes to lead England Knights on Papua New Guinea adventure". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
19. "Papua New Guinea v England Knights - NRL match centre". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
20. "Papua New Guinea vs England Knights". WWOS. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
21. "Oliver Holmes called up to the England Knights squad". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2 July 2019.

External links

• Castleford Tigers profile
• SL profile