Leeds Rhinos' Tom Holroyd's makes 'best in country' vow, reveals England aim ahead of Cup clash v St Helens

Holroyd is keen to do justice to one of Rhinos’ iconic squad numbers, regain his Test place and be part of a trophy-winning squad for the first time, having missed their Challenge Cup triumph in 2020 and a Grand Final appearance two years ago.Holroyd followed club greats including Barrie McDermott and Jamie Peacock when he was awarded the number 10 jersey in pre-season, becoming part of a home-grown front-row alongside fellow academy product Mikolaj Oledzki.

It has been a gradual process for 23-year-old Holroyd, who made his first team debut six years ago and he admitted taking one of the club’s iconic numbers was “a really proud moment for me”.

The Halifax-born forward said: “It is something I have always dreamed of, to get a starting number at Leeds.It was a proud moment for my family and I just need to leave my mark on it now.”

Last year was Holroyd’s best since breaking into the senior team in 2018. He played 24 times for his club - beating his previous record by eight - and made his first appearance for England against France in a mid-season test 11 months ago. That came after he didn’t play at all for Leeds in 2022, because of two long-term injuries and a 10-game suspension.

A knee injury, which required surgery, caused him to miss Rhinos’ final match of the campaign and make himself unavailable for the autumn Test series against Tonga. He also sat out Leeds’ first three fixtures this term, but has played in the past two.

“It’s good to get back playing and pull a few games together,” Holroyd said. “Hopefully I can build some good performances now. My pre-season was modified; I struggled to get with the lads a lot because of my knee, but I still managed to get some quality sessions in and I am happy I am with the lads now.

“It was frustrating not to be able to play for England at the end of the year, or even be contending for selection. I was quite upset about that and to miss the last game for Leeds as well, but it’s what happens with rugby and I try not to think about it too much. I took the break in the off-season and hopefully I’ll have a good year this year as well.”

Regaining an England place is one of Holroyd’s goals, but he knows that will come from playing well for Rhinos. “I want to be around there and one of the best players in the country,” he stressed. “That is what I am aiming for.

“Last year was my best season, I was more consistent and played consecutive games. I managed to show a bit more about me, rather than doing it in drips and drabs.”

Holroyd reckons he is “slowly building” into this year. “It is probably understandable from how much rugby I was actually able to play in pre-season,” he said. “I think it will come.”

Both Holroyd’s appearances this term have been as a substitute. He has been on the bench for 33 of his 55 games for Leeds, but started 15 of last year’s 24. Some front-rowers have a preference - for example, Leeds’ Sam Lisone who prefers to operate as an impact player off the bench - but Holroyd insisted: “Really, I just do whatever the team needs.

“I trust in Rohan [Smith, Rhinos’ coach] that he picks the squad he thinks is needed that week and I do whatever he needs me to do.”

Rhinos know what they are up against in tomorrow’s (Friday) Betfred Challenge Cup sixth round tie at home to St Helens, having lost 18-8 to the same opponents exactly a week earlier in Super League. Leeds led 8-0 in the first half, but back-to-back Saints tries midway through the second period made the difference.

Holroyd said: “It’s quite fortunate we get to go again, because we get to prove ourselves against Saints and try to get that win. It’s a big one, the Challenge Cup is something all the lads are aiming for.

“We can learn from last week, we’ve done our review and looked at what we could have done differently and how we can capitalise on a few things. It was a close contest, it could have gone either way. We have all got trust and belief here that we’ve got a good team. We just have to go out and prove it on Friday. We have proved a few times what we can do as a team, we just need to come through the other side with a win.”