Billy Holland (born 3 August 1985) is an Irish former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player, who spent his entire career playing for his native province of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, whilst also earning a single international cap for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He played primarily as a lock, though also played flanker occasionally, and represented

Cork Constitution The Cork Constitution (CC) is a rugby union club based in Cork (city), Cork, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. It was founded by staff of the ''Cork Constitution (newspaper), Cork Constitution'' ...

in the All-Ireland League.

Professional career

Munster

Holland made his full debut for Munster against Scarlets on 22 September 2007, having made his non-competitive debut against

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in a friendly on 7 September. He was part of the Munster team that narrowly lost to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on 18 November 2008, in the opening game of the new Thomond Park. He made his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

debut in Munster

2009–10 Heineken Cup The 2009–10 Heineken Cup was the 15th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2009 and ended on 22 May 2010 with the final at Stade ...

quarter-final against Northampton Saints on 10 April 2010. Holland started for Munster in their historic 15–6 victory over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 16 November 2010. He signed a new two-year contract with Munster in March 2012. Holland led

Munster A Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Iris ...

to victory in the

2011–12 British and Irish Cup The 2011–12 British and Irish Cup was the 3rd season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. First round matches began on Wednesday 21 September 2011 and the final was held on Fri ...

Final, putting in a captains performance in the 31–12 win. Holland captained Munster against Dragons on 29 November 2013. He signed a new two-year contract with Munster in February 2014, which will see him remain with the province until at least June 2016. Holland was nominated for the 2015 Munster Rugby Senior Player of the Year Award in April 2015. In January 2016, Holland signed a new two-year contract with Munster. He was nominated for the 2016 Munster Senior Player of the Year Award, the second successive season he was nominated. On 5 May 2017, Holland was named in the

2016–17 Pro12 The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was the ...

Dream Team. Holland started Munster's first 16 games of the 2017–18 season and signed a two-year contract extension with the province in January 2018. He won his 200th cap for Munster during their

2018–19 Pro14 The 2018–19 Pro14 (also known as the '' Guinness Pro14'' for sponsorship reasons) is the eighteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the second season to be referred to as the ''Pr ...

round 13 win against

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

on 5 January 2019, becoming just the tenth player to achieve the feat with the province. He signed a one-year contract extension with the province in February 2020. Holland became Munster's joint-second most capped player with Ronan O'Gara on 240 caps when he captained the province to a 22–10 away win against

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in round 12 of the

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''PRO ...

on 20 February 2021, also winning the

Man-of-the-Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

award. He retired at the end of the 2020–21 season after 14 years with the province, and was named in the 2020–21 Pro14 Dream Team in his final season. Holland's final game for Munster was their 54–11 away win against Italian side

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

in round 6 of the Pro14 Rainbow Cup on 11 June 2021.

Ireland

Holland had represented Ireland Schools, Ireland under 19s and Ireland under 21s. He won the IRUPA Award for Unsung Hero on 8 May 2013. He started for

Emerging Ireland Emerging Ireland is an Irish rugby union team that represents Ireland in the World Rugby Nations Cup. History 2013 Tbilisi Cup The team was created to offer Tier 1 level opposition for Tier 2 sides in the IRB Tbilisi Cup, held in Tbilisi, Georgia ...

their second

2014 IRB Nations Cup The 2014 IRB Nations Cup was the ninth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. For the eighth time in a row, it was held in Bucharest, Romania. It was played between 13 and 22 Jun ...

game against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

on 18 June 2014, scoring a try. He also started in the 31–10 victory over

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

on 22 June 2014, a win that secured the

for Emerging Ireland. Holland was added to the senior

squad for the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested b ...

game against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 24 February 2015. He was named in the

squad for the

2015 World Rugby Tbilisi Cup The 2015 World Rugby Tbilisi Cup was the third edition of this international rugby union tournament, created by World Rugby. It was played from 13 to 21 June 2015 at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi, running alongside the 2015 World Rugby Nations Cu ...

on 19 May 2015. Holland started in the opening 25–0 win against Emerging Italy on 13 June 2015. Holland started in the 33–7 win against

on 17 June 2015. He captained the side in the 45–12 win against Georgia on 21 June 2015, a win which secured the tournament for Emerging Ireland. On 26 October 2016, Holland was named in Ireland's squad for the

2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the ''2016 Autumn Internationals'' in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between the visiting Southern Hemisphere countries: ...

. On 12 November 2016, Holland made his senior Ireland debut when he started in the 52–21 win against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. On 23 January 2017, Holland was named in the Ireland squad for the opening two rounds of the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by NatWest ...

. Holland was awarded the ''Contribution to Irish Society'' accolade at the Irish Rugby Players Awards in October 2020. Holland was the recipient of the 2021

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

Rugby Writers of Ireland's ''Tom Rooney Award'' in recognition of his contribution to Irish rugby.

Honours

Emerging Ireland

World Rugby Nations Cup The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million St ...

**Winner (1):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

World Rugby Tbilisi Cup The World Rugby Tbilisi Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2013 at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi with the hosts Georgia joined by Uruguay, who regularly take part in the Nations Cup, and two newly founded teams: Emerging Ireland, ...

**Winner (1):

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

Dream Team **Member (2): 2016–17,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

References

External links

Munster ProfileIreland ProfilePro14 Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Billy Living people 1985 births People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork Rugby union players from County Cork Irish rugby union players University College Cork RFC players Cork Constitution players Munster Rugby players Munster Rugby captains Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers