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Renee Holmes’ rise from ‘scary’ setback to starring again for Black Ferns
By Finn Morton reporting from Bristol
Renee Holmes will start at fullback for the Black Ferns when they play Canada in the semi-finals of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, which is quite the achievement considering the goal-kicking ace faced an uphill battle to even make the touring squad.
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When New Zealand unveiled their squad for the Pacific Four Series only five months ago, there were some major omissions from the 33-player group , including the absence of 2022 World Cup heroes Holmes, Ruby Tui and Chelsea Bremner.
Braxton Sorensen-McGee had been called into the national set-up for the first time, after the 18-year-old fullback starred for the Blues in Super Rugby Aupiki. HSBC SVNS Series stars Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane also made the cut, ultimately going on to star in the 15s arena.
New Zealand opened their international season with a 38-12 win over Australia at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium, with Sorensen-McGee scoring a double on debut. The Black Ferns later drew 27-all with Canada in Christchurch, and defeated the USA 79-14.
With Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scoring seven tries against the Women’s Eagles, and Katelyn Vahaakolo impressing on the other wing, it seemed the Black Ferns had found their starting outside backs trio – but Holmes kept working behind the scenes.
Riki Flutey “instilled nothing but confidence” in Holmes while the Black Ferns were on tour, so the fullback was ready when recalled to start against the Wallaroos in Wellington. Flutey was the one who ended up calling Holmes to say she’d made the World Cup squad.
“It’s quite crazy. It wasn’t the start I really would’ve liked at the start of this year. You never want to miss out on a tour but for me, missing out on the tour right before World Cup, that was a bit scary,” Holmes told RugbyPass.
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“But it actually allowed me a lot of time to go away and work on my craft and get a bit of game time in club rugby and build my confidence back from not really playing much in Super Rugby.
“To now be starting, it’s quite crazy. I didn’t actually anticipate playing this many games at this World Cup so I’ve just got to keep nailing my core roles and doing it for the team.”
Holmes wore the No. 15 jersey in New Zealand’s World Cup opener against Spain, with the 25-year-old scoring 14 points off the goal-kicking tee in that 54-8 win in York. After shifting to the bench for the Japan Test in Exeter, Holmes has become the first-choice fullback once again.
Director of Performance Allan Bunting started Holmes at fullback against Ireland in pool play, and then again in the quarter-final win over South Africa. Holmes has been named in the run-on side yet again ahead of Friday’s clash with Canada, alongside a formidable duo on the wings.
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Sorensen-McGee is the top try-scorer at this World Cup with eight in just four appearances, while also adding some points off the kicking tee. On the other wing, Woodman-Wickliffe – who recently became the first New Zealander to score 50 Test tries – will wear the No. 11.
“They’re two really different players. ‘P’ is an absolute powerhouse and then you’ve got Brax who’s a fullback as well who, everything she touches at the moment she’s over that try line,” Holmes said with a smile.
“It’s pretty cool to have both on either side and the way we actually are able to play together, we complement each other’s strengths so it’s really good to actually be doing what we’re doing at the moment.”
Holmes really seems to be making the most of this World Cup experience – impressing in a star-studded side that’s playing in front of record-breaking crowds, and that’s not all. The 26-Test fullback has gone to incredible lengths to connect with fans, as seen on social media.
@rugbyworldcup Black ferns player Renee Holmes got fans to sign HER shirt after their game 🥺 #RWC2025 #NZLvIRE ? som original – | astroxv |
After playing 80 minutes against Ireland in Brighton, Holmes asked fans to sign her jersey. More than 45,000 people have watched a video of this on the Rugby World Cup TikTok page, but the Black Fern wasn’t doing it to go viral.
That moment was about connecting with the next generation.
And yes, it’s a jersey Holmes is “definitely” going to have framed.
“It’s something I’d thought about for a while. I thought it’d be cool to get signatures from young girls and boys who may be on the world stage one day. It was a nice interaction, asking fans for a signature after they asked for mine,” she explained.
“So, it was a buzz for me and hopefully a buzz for them. It’s a jersey I’ll definitely get framed; it was a very cool feeling.”