Jonah Holmes: Wing set to swap Dragons for Ealing after deciding to leave Wales

Jonah Holmes made his Wales debut against Tonga in November 2018

Wing Jonah Holmes looks set to leave Dragons for Ealing Trailfinders after turning down an offer to stay in Wales.

Wales international Holmes, 29, has been included in only one of Wayne Pivac's 38-man squads since joining Dragons from Leicester two years ago.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) contributes 80% of international players' salaries, but Holmes has turned down a new deal to stay with the Dragons.

Ealing play in the English second tier Championship league.

Trailfinders won the Championship but have withdrawn their appeal against the decision to deny them promotion to the Premiership, after the west London club failed to meet the minimum standards criteria based on capacity.

Premiership stadiums must hold at least 10,001, with Ealing's ground only holding about half of that.

Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan admitted it would be tough for Holmes not to be involved at Premiership level.

"If it's true (Holmes' Ealing deal), when was it done?" said Ryan.

"I presume it was on an expectation that they would go up into the Premiership.

"Clearly Ealing has been a complex position about whether they are promoted or not.

"I am not even sure the Premiership is open again for the next couple of years, so that would be a tough gig for him."

Holmes unhappy

The WRU decides the salaries of the elite 38 home-based Wales internationals under its wage banding system.

Holmes turned down his offer and lodged an appeal against the banding that was rejected.

Following his decision to turn down the offer, the Dragons would have been required to pay all of his wages out of their own playing budget to keep Holmes.

Asked whether he felt for Holmes, Ryan replied: "I'm not sure I feel for him. He had an offer from the national 38 and he turned that down.

"You can get subjective about what that value should be, but that's professional rugby.

"I think everybody has been able to put their version of the world forward and he's been able to make some choices and he's not chosen to stay in Wales.

"I am not sure that's linked to being a victim of anything. It's not like he didn't get an offer, it's just the nature of what professional rugby is. You don't always agree what's offered to you."

Ryan has mixed feelings about the funding for the elite 38 homegrown players.

"Attaching funding to people is often a dangerous position, because it can inflate markets and raise wages," added Ryan.

"I have always been an advocate of having more stable funding and not related to who you have got in what squad, but I also recognise in a small country you have to concentrate some of that resource around key individuals.

"So it's not a one-sentence answer, but I don't believe attaching money to individuals as a way of getting our funding is the most stable way to move forward.

"More funding should be stable from year to year."