Martin Rowan Holah (born 10 September 1976 in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, New Zealand) is a New Zealand former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, who has played for Welsh regional side Ospreys, the Waikato provincial team and the Chiefs

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

franchise. Holah was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

in 36 international test matches for the New Zealand national team, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

. The Waikato flanker made his debut for the All Blacks on 16 June 2001 against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

at Albany. He is known for his ability to steal the ball in the tackle. Holah was instrumental in the NZ Māori's defeat of the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

during the 2005 tour at his home ground,

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, th ...

. In 2006, Holah was named in the unfamiliar position of blind-side flanker for the test against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in Hamilton, his first start in the All Black jersey since 2004. On 14 August 2007, it was announced that Holah had signed a two-year contract with the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

champions, the Ospreys. He enjoyed his time there, later signing a one-season extension on his contract. In the 2009/10 season he was named Ospreys' Coaches Player of the Year, having been named Man of the Match against the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in a must-win

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

match with a heroic individual defensive display, which he reproduced multiple times in helping the Ospreys to lift the Magners League title that year. On 18 April 2011 it was announced Holah would return home to play for Waikato in the

2011 ITM Cup The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago (National Provincial Championship), Otago hosted North Harbour ...

. Holah became a regular member of the starting side.

References

External links

*
Ospreys Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holah, Marty 1976 births Living people Chiefs (Super Rugby) players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Wales Māori All Blacks players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Ospreys (rugby union) players People educated at St John's College, Hamilton Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Hamilton, New Zealand Waikato rugby union players 2003 Rugby World Cup players