Why Force milestone man wanted to retire

Western Force prop Greg Holmes has revealed he considered retiring last year after suffering a devastating hand injury.

Holmes will notch his 150-game Super Rugby milestone when he fronts up for Saturday’s clash with the Queensland Reds in Brisbane.

But the 37-year-old almost hung up his boots last year after breaking his hand and thumb while playing against the Reds in Brisbane.

“I caught someone’s shin with my hand and it shattered a few bones in my hand,” Holmes said.

“I had to get a bone graft out of my wrist.

“I went that way because we were leaning towards not being able to play again, because I didn’t want to lose complete use of my thumb.

“I put a fair bit of time and work into my thumb and I’ve got my hand working somewhat OK now, so I decided to go around again.”

Holmes notched 144 Super games with the Reds and he’s thrilled that his milestone will be at Suncorp Stadium – a venue that holds plenty of special memories for him.

The Former Wallabies front row forward cherished his time at the Reds, with the 2011 title one of his fondest moments.

But he’s also excited to be part of an improving Force outfit that is steadily growing in star power.

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A week after signing Wallabies lock Sitaleki Timani, the Force secured the prized signature of former Reds star Izack Rodda.

The powerful lock will finish his stint with French Top 14 outfit Lyon before linking up with the Force in July for a contract that will run until 2022.

The Reds (3-0) are riding high after beating the Brumbies 40-38 in a thriller last Saturday.

The Force is still stewing over their 7-10 loss to the Melbourne Rebels, in which they conceded a scrum penalty on their own feed in the final minute when they were within striking distance of scoring a try.

Bad line-outs and failed kicking for touch also plagued the Force last week and Holmes said they have been working hard to fix their issues.

“We were actually really disappointed in our scrum last week,” Holmes said.

“We planned to attack the Rebels a little bit, and things went a little bit AWOL there.

“Our line-out didn’t fire at all, so this week we’ve really addressed that.

“We know the Reds have a huge scrum and a good line-out, so that’s an area where we have to be on point.”