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The ‘love’ of the Tahs: Jed Holloway hopes to prove ‘people wrong’ in 2024
The new Super Rugby Pacific season is almost here. It’s an opportunity for younger players to step up and be heard at the professional level, while senior players have a chance to add more greatness to their careers with their beloved franchises.
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For NSW Waratahs lock Jed Holloway, though, there’s an added layer of motivation going into the 2024 campaign. The Wallaby is hoping to “prove a few people wrong” while wearing sky blue at the club he simply loves playing for.
Holloway, 31, started two Test matches under Eddie Jones last year but was later left out of the Wallabies’ 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup. In Holloway’s own words: “Let’s be real about it, it was my last opportunity to do it. I was gutted.”
But Holloway is eager and ready to rip in ahead of another Super Rugby Pacific season. The Australian had been linked with a move abroad to Top 14 juggernaut Clermont in France before re-signing with Rugby Australia last year.
Some may question whether it’s time for Holloway to “move on” from Australian rugby, but the 12-Test Wallaby is firmly focused on the job at hand with the Waratahs.
“I want to be a Waratah and I definitely still love the Wallabies and I’ve got a lot of respect for Phil Waugh and I’m very excited for Joe Schmidt,” Holloway told RugbyPass.
“But in terms of where my heart and soul lies, I love this club, I love what they’re about, I love the people in it from the admin staff to the old man who has been washing my training clothes.
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“I love what they’re about and I’ve always been a Waratahs fan.
“Some people will probably say, ‘He’s old, he’s got to move on’ but it’s where I’ve always wanted to be. I’ve done the overseas thing a little bit and it’s hard, especially when you’ve got a young family now.
“I really want to give everything I’ve got and hopefully prove a few people wrong in this season and help us get to where we want to go.”
Holloway debuted for the Waratahs in 2013, and while the utility forward has had short stints with Munster and Toyota Verblitz abroad, it’s this club that has always had his heart.
The Waverley College product – a school in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs – has played more than 80 games in sky blue and is gearing up for another season with the well-known franchise.
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But for all the love that Holloway has for the Tahs, just like any other athlete or person, it’s impossible to be motivated all the time. So, when the going gets tough and the tough gets going, the Wallaby refers to a series of quotes on his phone.
Holloway laughed off the idea of sharing what those quotes were, but they’re there for him and him alone “every now and then when I need motivation.”
“When I feel like I don’t want to get out of bed or don’t want to lift as much in the gym today, it’s just refreshing that,” Holloway said.
“It’s mainly just to lead myself and make sure that I’m holding myself accountable because we do have a lot of young, impressionable guys.
“I’ve seen a massive, massive jump out of Langi Gleeson this year. He’s only going to get better in him. I see so much Wycliff (Palu) in him, just the way he plays. But just his attitude around the gym.
“If I can bring one guy through and hopefully teach them good strategies and good preparation and make them a better player, then ideally I’ll be a better play whenever I leave this place to know that I’ve hopefully left it in a better place.”
Seven months after his most recent Test match in Wallaby gold, Holloway will return to competitive rugby when the Tahs open their regular season against arch-rivals Queensland.
It’s a tough start to the year for the men from Sydney, who after making the trip to Brisbane will face three different New Zealand teams on the bounce.
But Holloway is full of confidence and belief.
“My whole time we’ve been there, we’ve covered the most detail and probably run the most kilometres I’ve had in my pre-season,” he added.
“In terms of physical condition and where we are with our gameplan… I think we’re a long way ahead of where we’ve been from in previous seasons.
“It’s exciting. We know we’ve done the work. The boys are strong and fit so we just need to tie it all together now.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Musk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
2 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real speech. They claim free speech. The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
67 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
2 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 Go to commentslooking forward to RWC2027 …. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the “DuPont-era”, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ….. until then we’ll probably have to deal with Weird Ben’s fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) …..
221 Go to commentsBen Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gotten… maybe another Twickenham drubbing
221 Go to commentsIt is a good argument to keep the Rebels for one more year but also isnt this just opening the door as well for keeping them beyond 2025. If they can create some sort of financial stability in the next year and if their performances lift as they have this season then how would RA even cull them after that? It might be the most cost effective decision at this stage and perhaps many people are guilty of keeping relationships going because of the cost to decouple but then again when does that ever work out well?
28 Go to commentsDear Ben Smith you are a genius! God please become the next all blacks coach that can take on the mighty BOKS. Your rugby acumen is second to none - imagine your dads sperm bounced as unfortunately as that oval ball did….we would not be blessed with your presence. Just as the all blacks were missing a man you too are missing a chromosome for 80% of your life, so your insights are not only profound but ring true from your own experiences. Just as the TMO interfered with citing an illegal pass I am sure your local authorities interfere with your illegal passes you make on women - How dare they!!! God forbid that rugby be officiated fairly. You are the right man for the job. Next all blacks coach is here ladies and gentlemen Miss Ben Smith (He/She/They/IT)
221 Go to commentsHuge engine this guy and great to see him back ..The amount of clean outs he does at the ruck are ridiculous !!
3 Go to commentsThe level of desperation in this article is just embarrassing.
221 Go to commentsSome silly trolling in the comments.
9 Go to commentsEverywhere you turn some irish journo is advocating Ireland as the greatest, reasoning that the wc is a 4 year cycle event so, they say wc doesn’t matter it’s the rugby in between that should account for the accolade. If there was no wc then some substance could be gained, however in my opinion the moment that defined Ireland’s fate against the abs was 37 phases of repeated head bashing against a brick wall. If a change in strategy or a tinker with the game plan was executed then things could've been vastly different. And to point a finger the let down was in the hands of the number 10.
67 Go to commentsI have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
28 Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
67 Go to commentsLove watching
1 Go to comments