Billy Holland joins elite '200 Club' at Munster

BILLY Holland became the tenth Munster-man to reach 200 caps for the province, and the first of the current squad to reach the significant milestone, when sprung from the bench during Saturday night’s Guinness PRO 14 bonus point win against Connacht.

The last Munster player to reach such a milestone was Donncha O’Callaghan in April 2012 against Glasgow in Cork.

Holland, who celebrated his 33rd birthday in August, is now in his 12th season of professional rugby after first lining out in red against Scarlets in September 2007.

A graduate of the Munster Rugby Academy, the Corkman’s pathway saw him play school and club rugby with CBC, UCC and Cork Constitution.

Leading the Munster ‘A’ side to British and Irish Cup success in 2012, Holland has flourished in a leadership role captaining the province on 29 occasions to date.

A driving force on and off the field, hard work and consistent performances throughout his career have seen Billy win Munster Rugby Academy Player of the Year in 2008 , Young Player of the Year in 2010, and nominated for Player of the Year by his teammates on two occasions.

Playing both lock and flanker, he has been an ever-present in match-day squads over the past number of seasons.

Coincidentally, it was also at the Sportsground that Billy Holland marked his 100th appearance in red in 2015, and in making his 200th appearance he joins an illustrious group of Munster stalwarts.

Munster’s 200 Club

Anthony Foley

Alan Quinlan

Peter Stringer

John Hayes

Ronan O’Gara

David Wallace

Marcus Horan

Mick O’Driscoll

Donncha O’Callaghan

Billy Holland