Jonah Holmes faces a “tough gig” if he joins English Championship club Ealing Trailfinders in the wake of them missing out on promotion to the Gallagher Premiership. That’s the verdict of Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan on his departing Wales winger.
The seven-times capped Holmes is moving on having lost his wage appeal to the Welsh Rugby Union. The Union decide the salaries of the elite 38 home-based Wales internationals under their wage banding system. Holmes was unhappy with his offer and lodged an appeal, which was supported by his region, but that was rejected.
Players in the elite 38 effectively have 80 per cent of their salaries paid by the Union. With the out-of-contract Holmes not in that group, the Dragons would have had to pay all of his wages out of their own playing budget and they were not able to offer him a deal which would keep him on board.
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So, after two seasons at Rodney Parade, the 29-year-old is heading for pastures new and the reports are he will be joining Ealing, which will mean him becoming ineligible for Wales under the 60-cap rule.
But he won’t be playing in the Premiership despite Ealing winning the Championship, as they were denied promotion as they didn’t meet the required criteria on ground capacity. They appealed against that decision but then withdrew their appeal, meaning they will remain in the second tier.
Commenting on Holmes’ reported move, Ryan said: “If it’s true, when was it done? I presume it was on an expectation that they would go up into the Premiership. Clearly Ealing has been a complex position about whether they are promoted or not. I am not even sure the Premiership is open again for the next couple of years, so that would be a tough gig for him.”
Asked whether he felt for Holmes over the whole situation, Ryan replied: “I’m not sure I feel for him. He had an offer from the national 38 and he turned that down. You can get subjective about what that value should be, but that’s professional rugby.
“I think everybody has been able to put their version of the world forward and he’s been able to make some choices and he’s not chosen to stay in Wales. I am not sure that's linked to being a victim of anything. It’s not like he didn’t get an offer, it’s just the nature of what professional rugby is. You don’t always agree what’s offered to you.”
On the whole question of the elite 38, Ryan said: “Attaching funding to people is often a dangerous position because it can inflate markets and raise wages. I have always been an advocate of having more stable funding and not related to who you have got in what squad, but I also recognise in a small country you have to concentrate some of that resource around key individuals.
“So it’s not a one-sentence answer, but I don’t believe attaching money to individuals as a way of getting our funding is the most stable way to move forward. I think more funding should be stable from year to year.”
While Holmes is moving on, full-back Jordan Williams has committed his future to the Dragons by signing a contract extension. Williams, 28, joined the region from Bristol in 2018 and made his 50th appearance for them in the recent Challenge Cup clash with Gloucester.
He said: “I’m really pleased to extend my stay at Dragons, after enjoying the last four seasons with the region. It’s been a frustrating season at times for me due to injury, but I’m now looking forward to finishing this campaign strongly and taking that momentum into next year.”
Ryan said: “Jordan brings real threat in open field for us and is an important player as we look to build and move forward. It’s been a mixed year for him in terms of injury, but we want him back playing regular rugby, so we’re delighted he has re-signed with us. Our challenge is to increase depth and Jordan is crucial to that, ensuring he keeps pushing on and raising his levels. Jordan can get even better and we’re excited that he will do that as a Dragon in the coming seasons.”
