Oliver Holmes (rugby league)

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.

Oliver Holmes
Personal information
Full nameOliver Josh Holmes[1]
Born (1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 (age 32)
Altofts, West Yorkshire, England
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight15 st 4 lb (97 kg)[2]
Playing information
PositionSecond-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

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

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Holmes was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England.

Club career

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Castleford Tigers

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  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 22 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b "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.
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