Rachel Jenkins may be looking down from a gap in the clouds on Saturday when Jonah Holmes make his debut for Wales.
The late Mrs. Jenkins was the grandmother of Holmes – the Leicester wing who will start at full-back against Tonga – and it is to her that he owes a debt of gratitude for the opportunity.
There may be a heavenly tear, too, as Holmes recalls: “My grandmother was from Cwmllynfell near Swansea. It would have been great if she was here to come on Saturday, but unfortunately she passed away a couple of years ago.
“I remember she always used to cry when Wales were playing on the TV and of course I will be thinking of her on Saturday.
“If someone had told me at the start of this season I’d be playing for Wales, I would have said, ‘Awesome’, but I wouldn’t have expected it.”
Born in Stockport and very much a product of English rugby, Holmes typifies the trade in rugby union’s international selection these days, where countries tap into every player’s background to discover if their roots might hold the key to eligibility.
With the movement across borders so much more frequent than years ago, the chances are they are going to hit the jackpot – as was the case with Holmes.
The 26-year-old has had spells with Yorkshire Carnegie, London Welsh and Wasps, but he has never played for a Welsh side or at the Principality Stadium.
Wales discovered he had Welsh lineage and then it took a phone call from coach Warren Gatland to discover if qualification meant ambition and intent.
“Warren’s call came out of the blue. I didn’t have his number and I was going to block it to be honest! I’m very proud to have Welsh blood and when Warren asked if I wanted to play, there was only one answer.”
“When I started playing professional rugby and I left school to go to Wasps Wales under 20’s was my first option. But it didn’t come about and I wasn’t allowed to go.
“Since then there’s been talk about coming over to the regions and maybe trying to get involved with the Sevens but nothing came about.
“Now, finally, this opportunity has come about and I’m thrilled.”
Gatland appears pretty happy with the prospect, too, as he bids to further enhance his pool of possibilities ahead of the World Cup so that if Leigh Halfpenny or Liam Williams suffer injury or a dramatic loss of form, then proven alternatives will be on hand.
Holmes does not have Williams’ elusiveness or Halfpenny’s goal-kicking prowess, but he is quick and powerful and reads the game well enough in the Gallagher Premiership to be offered this opportunity at Test level.
“Jonah has impressed us in training so far and he gets an opportunity,” said Gatland.
“Full-back is a position where we want to create depth. He has been a top try-scorer for Leicester playing on the wing and before he went to Leicester, he was top try-scorer in the Championship with Leeds.
“Liam is comfortable playing either full-back or wing, but we just want to see how Jonah goes in that position. We could have easily switched them around, but we feel Jonah is going to give us a different attacking threat from full-back.
“It is a big step up for him, but we are really excited about the potential he can bring to the game. Hopefully he can give us some more headaches in terms of selection.”
Holmes has recently agreed a new two year contract with the Tigers so it will be at least a couple of seasons before he has to make any decision over his club future. However many caps he gathers between now and the end of that deal he will fall well short of the 60-cap threshold that would allow him to continue to play in England and to represent his adopted country.
But that is further down the line. For now, all his thoughts are on Saturday and the physical challenge of the Tongans.
“I think there might be a few players in there I know and I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to get into me.”
“I think rugby is the same pretty much everywhere. I guess it goes without saying the pressure to execute is higher at this level but otherwise it’s quite similar to the Tigers.”
His grandmother would certainly hope so and the only regret for Holmes is that she is around to join the rest of his family and friends.
“Unfortunately she passed away, but I’ll certainly be thinking of her.”
