Home calling Forces hand
WALLABIES’ former prop Greg Holmes is returning home after signing a shortterm contract with the Western Force.
The 37-year-old Allora product will end a four-year spell at English Premiership club Exeter to make the move to Western Australia.
Holmes, who won a premiership title in his first season with Exeter, had plans to retire at the end of the current campaign but revised those during the coronavirus shutdown.
The former Queensland Reds prop said he could not resist the chance to see out his playing days in his home country with competition in Australia set to begin again in July, but leaves Sandy Park with a heavy heart.
“In my head I was going to finish my career with the Chiefs, retire and then move on to the next stage of my life,” Holmes told the club’s website. “Obviously, COVID-19 stopped all of that, not just for me, but for people around the world.
“It’s certainly been strange times for all of us and it’s meant that I won’t be able to finish here in Exeter as I wanted. These past four years have been amazing and this is a very special place to not only come and play rugby, but to live in and be part of a special rugby community.
“Some of my fondest rugby memories have come from my time here in Exeter and I’m just so glad I’ve been able to experience what I have, and be a small part in what has been a successful period for the club.”
As for the prospect of getting back on the pitch, with one last challenge in Perth, he added: “It’s an opportunity I wasn’t expecting.
“This is a chance to make the trip home a little easier, but at the same time go out playing.”
Meanwhile, Chiefs coach Warren Gatland couldn’t hide fatherly pride, despite his team losing, after his son and Highlanders replacement Bryn kicked the winning drop goal in a Super Rugby Aotearoa thriller.
The all-new Zealand-based competition opened on Saturday with high drama in Dunedin, finishing with Gatland Jnr’s wobbly three-pointer to secure a 28-27 win for the hosts.
The match was the first rugby union match in the world to open its doors to a crowd en masse since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with 22,000 fans attending.