Tyrone Holmes (born 15 April 1986) is a South African-born Scottish professional

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 ...

footballer.

Rugby Union career

Professional career

As part of his South African academy development with the RPC Rugby Performance Centre, Holmes trained with

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

for four months. He then joined

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

academy for five months but on their relegation most of the academy players were cut and he returned to South Africa. He played for the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

and for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

and

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

, as well as the

Griquas The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...

and

Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn ...

. Holmes helped Western Province win the Vodacom Cup for the first time in 2012, he made nine appearances and scored two tries. He also played his first

game later in the season. As a result of a loose forward injury crisis, Holmes debuted against the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

on 30 June 2012. He started the game in the number 6 jersey and was replaced in the 52nd minute by Tiaan Liebenberg in a 27–17 Stormers win. After the

2012 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 74th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 11 August to 27 October 2012. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

season, he joined Italian National Championship of Excellence team

Petrarca Rugby Petrarca Rugby is a rugby union club from Padua, Italy, currently competing in the top tier of the Italian rugby union, the Top10. Founded in 1947, the team is the rugby union branch of the Unione Sportiva Petrarca, an omnisport club that inclu ...

for one season. Holmes then moved to

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

for the start of season 2013–14. He was part of the Glasgow side's 2014–2015

Pro12 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 ...

league championship winning season. Following his release from Glasgow, Holmes signed for

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

from the 2016–17 season.

International career

Holmes is eligible to play for Scotland as his father was Scottish. His grandfather played for

Peebles RFC Peebles Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Peebles in the Scottish Borders. The team currently competes in Scottish National League Division Two, the third tier of Scottish club rugby. The earliest record available of rugby being ...

. He was named in the Scotland A squad for their match against

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

on 31 January 2014, helping them to a 13–13 draw. This confirmed his Scottish nationality under World Rugby rules. The flanker received his first cap for the full Scotland national side against South Africa on 29 June 2014.

Coaching career

On 25 July 2017 it was announced that Holmes would begin a new role as the Strength and Conditioning Coach at

Stade Niçois Stade Niçois is a French amateur rugby club based in Nice, founded in 2012. It currently operates in Nationale, one division below the French professional Top14 and Pro D2 leagues. History The club was previously known as Rugby Nice Côte d'A ...

in France. Holmes is now the Performance Coach of the Glasgow campus of the

Scottish Rugby Academy The Scottish Rugby Academy, for sponsorship reasons the Fosroc Scottish Rugby Academy, is a national academy structure designed to give Scotland's young rugby stars a pathway into the professional game. The academy structure is based on 4 regiona ...

References

External links

*
itsrugby.co.uk profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Tyrone 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Johannesburg South African rugby union coaches South African rugby union players South African people of Scottish descent Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union flankers White South African people South African people of British descent Griquas (rugby union) players Glasgow Warriors players Cornish Pirates players Expatriate rugby union players in Italy Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players Scotland 'A' international rugby union players Rugby union strength and conditioning coaches