# Barry Holmes

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{{Short description|England & Argentina international rugby union player}}
{{for|the Australian Olympic diver|Barry Holmes (diver)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''William Barry Holmes''' (6 January 1928 – 10 November 1949) was a [rugby union](/source/rugby_union) player who played for the [England national rugby union team](/source/England_national_rugby_union_team) and the [Argentina national rugby union team](/source/Argentina_national_rugby_union_team).<ref name=scrum1>{{cite web|last=Richards|first=Huw|title=England's only Puma|url=https://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/15294804/england-only-puma|work=espnscrum.com|date=10 November 2009 |accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref> As of 2011 he is the only player to have been capped at senior level by both those two countries.<ref name=scrum2>{{cite web|title=Barry Holmes|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/celticleague-2010-11/rugby/player/5108.html|work=espnscrum.com|accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>

Holmes was born in Buenos Aires on 6 January 1928 to British parents.<ref name=scrum2/> He was educated at [St. George's College, Quilmes](/source/St._George's_College%2C_Quilmes), and began his rugby union career playing for the [Old Georgian Club](/source/Old_Georgian_Club) in Buenos Aires.<ref name=scrum1/> He travelled to Britain to continue his education at [Queens' College, Cambridge](/source/Queens'_College%2C_Cambridge) and was selected to play for [Cambridge University R.U.F.C.](/source/Cambridge_University_R.U.F.C.) in [The Varsity Match](/source/The_Varsity_Match) twice, playing on the wing in 1947 and at fullback in 1948.<ref name=scrum1/> Holmes returned to Argentina in 1948 as part of the [1948 Oxford-Cambridge rugby union tour of Argentina](/source/1948_Oxford-Cambridge_rugby_union_tour_of_Argentina), a touring team made up of players from both Cambridge University RUFC and [Oxford University RFC](/source/Oxford_University_RFC) which won all nine of its tour matches, including two against the Argentina national team.<ref name=scrum1/>

Holmes's form for Cambridge University in the 1948–49 season led to two appearances in the trial matches for the England team and also an invitation to play for [the Barbarians](/source/Barbarian_F.C.) in their annual fixture against [Leicester](/source/Leicester_Tigers).<ref name=scrum1/> His performance in the second trial match clinched his selection at fullback in England's team for their opening match of the [1949 Five Nations Championship](/source/1949_Five_Nations_Championship) against [Wales](/source/Wales_national_rugby_union_team) at [Cardiff Arms Park](/source/Cardiff_Arms_Park) and he retained his place for the whole championship.<ref name=scrum1/> Holmes won four caps for England and scored a conversion in each match against Ireland and France for a total of four points.<ref name=scrum2/>

After playing on the Barbarians' 1949 tour of South Wales, Holmes returned to live in Argentina and was selected for the national team after only two games for Old Georgians.<ref name=scrum1/> He was capped twice for Argentina against France in August and September 1949 but did not score any points.<ref name=scrum2/> He was married in November 1949 and moved to [Salta](/source/Salta) but died of [typhoid fever](/source/typhoid_fever) on 10 November 1949, less than a week after his wedding.<ref name=scrum1/>

England rugby historian Barry Bowker described Holmes as a "steady fullback" while [Clem Thomas](/source/Clem_Thomas), a teammate at Cambridge and a Wales international himself, called him "a marvellous man and a great footballer" and said that the news of his death "depressed us enormously".<ref name=scrum1/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Barry}}
Category:1928 births
Category:1949 deaths
Category:Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Category:Argentine people of British descent
Category:Argentine rugby union players
Category:Argentina international rugby union players
Category:Barbarian F.C. players
Category:Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players
Category:England international rugby union players
Category:People educated at St. George's College, Quilmes
Category:Rugby union fullbacks
Category:Rugby union wings
Category:Rugby union players from Buenos Aires
Category:Deaths from typhoid fever

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barry Holmes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Holmes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Holmes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.