Johnson-Holmes re-signs with Waratahs and Australian Rugby

Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs are proud to announce that Harry Johnson-Holmes has penned a contract extension that will keep him on home soil until the end of the 2024.

The 25-year-old made a remarkable Wallabies debut against South Africa in 2019, famously called away from a schnitzel dinner to join the Australian team in Johannesburg after a series of injuries to the front row. 

Despite being his only Test to date, Johnson-Holmes has been involved in Wallabies squads since and was most recently named in the 40-man squad that assembled on the Gold Coast earlier this month. 

The Newcastle product followed the NSW Country pathway on his journey to the Waratahs, with time spent in the under 20s, the NSW Country Eagles in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) as well as a trip to the 2017 Junior World Championships in Georgia with the Junior Wallabies.

Johnson-Holmes would go on to make his Super Rugby debut in 2018 and has become a cornerstone of the team’s front-row representing his state on a further 64 occasions.

A winner of the Waratahs' Dave Dennis (Elite Youth Development) Player of the Year in 2017, Johnson-Holmes has also tasted success in club rugby helping Sydney University secure the Shute Shield in consecutive seasons (2018 and 2019). 

Wallabies and NSW Waratahs prop, Harry Johnson-Holmes said: “In the end, it was a really easy decision for me to re-sign with the Waratahs and Rugby Australia."

“NSW is obviously very special to me, and I guess in the end to be able to continue to play my part in putting the club back in the right direction was a no-brainer.

“It’s a place I really love and am incredibly proud of, and I'm surrounded by my best mates and a squad of blokes I really enjoy playing alongside. The team is heading into an exciting era, with a group of young talented footy players that I’m excited to be part of.

“Also having that World Cup just around the corner is another massive motivator to try and put my best foot forward and have a crack at getting into the Wallabies team and hopefully on a plane to France in 2023.”

NSW Waratahs head coach, Darren Coleman said: “I’ve known Harry for a long time from our NSW Country Eagles days and he's an outstanding team man and a lot of that has to do with his humble upbringing in Newcastle."

“He’s a good story for the CHS system that's gone right through the pathway and did it tough in the early part of his career, trying to make it into professional rugby, and is now reaping the rewards from his hard work and dedication to his craft.

“Harry’s versatility through his ability to play at either side of the scrum adds huge value as a team member and has a huge work ethic and an uncanny knack for scoring tries.
 
“Off the field, he adds as much if not more than he does on the field. He’s got an infectious jovial nature and a caring attitude to his teammates, and everyone's stoked that he's re-signed here for a few years.”