Wales wing Jonah Holmes destined for English Championship

Wales wing Jonah Holmes is on the verge of joining Ealing Trailfinders after turning down a contract from the Welsh Rugby Union.

The former Leicester speedster was keen to stay with the Dragons but was unhappy with the salary offered by the governing body.

In Wales, the salary of the elite 38 home-based players is set by the WRU under their wage banding system with the union paying 80 per cent of their contract.

Siya Kolisi joins The Offload.

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

PlaySkip BackwardSkip Forward

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

Stream Type LIVE

Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE

Remaining Time -0:00

 

1x

Playback Rate

Chapters

• Chapters

Descriptions

• descriptions off, selected

Captions

• captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
• captions off, selected

Audio Track

Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

The Video Cloud video was not found.

Error Code: VIDEO_CLOUD_ERR_VIDEO_NOT_FOUND

Session ID: 2025-05-29:4406d630d197368aa6a8d865 Player Element ID: brightcove-embedded-video

OK

Close Modal Dialog

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

Text

ColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-Transparent

Text Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent

Caption Area Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque

Font Size

50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%

Text Edge Style

NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadow

Font Family

Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps

ResetDone

Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Close Modal Dialog

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

Siya Kolisi joins The Offload.

We’re joined by Springbok royalty, Siya Kolisi, who discusses his incredible journey to becoming one of the most iconic players the sport has ever seen. Siya discusses his career journey both on and off the pitch including – altercations off the filed, the genius of Rassie Erasmus as a coach and selector, URC vs super rugby, the possibility of moving to play in Europe, his thoughts on Boks joining six nations, resetting rugby pathway, an incredible impromptu supper with Gerald Buttler, Drinks with Jurgen Klopp & Roc Nations positive influence on rugby.

Holmes originally appealed against the figure he was offered with support from the Dragons but was dismissed by the WRU and has consequently decided to end his international career by moving back to England. The 29-year-old made his Wales debut under former coach Warren Gatland in 2018, going on to win seven caps before falling out of favour with head coach Wayne Pivac, who took over the national side following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

With the WRU operating a 60-cap selection rule, Holmes will become ineligible for Wales selection and has been replaced at the Dragons by Highlanders utility-back Patelesio Tomkinson.

Holmes was hoping to return to the Gallagher Premiership where he has previously represented both Wasps and Leicester but he has found it difficult to find a club with the salary cap having dropped to £5m. RugbyPass understands Holmes is very close to signing for ambitious Championship outfit Ealing.

Holmes’ decision to drop to the second tier of English rugby will raise a few eyebrows especially after Ealing were rejected for promotion to the Premiership despite finishing top of the Championship.

The Trailfinders failed to meet the minimum standard criteria required for promotion but their ambitious owner, Mike Gooley, remains hopeful they will play in the top flight sometime in the near future, and the signing of international wing Holmes will be seen as a serious statement of intent.