Renee represented NZ in four sports before her 21st birthday. After football, taekwondo and ultimate frisbee she switched to rugby aged 16 and made the Black Ferns for the first time in 2020.  

Originally from Gisborne, Holmes played for the Hawke’s Bay Tui and Bay of Plenty Volcanix before a shift to Waikato for her Bachelor of Health, Sport and Human Performance studies in 2019. She won the Waikato player of the year award for her work at halfback and first five before turning heads at the Ignite Sevens. In 2020, she shifted to fullback.   

She made her Black Ferns (#221) debut against England in 2021 and was a member of the Black Ferns winning World Cup 2021 squad, played in 2022 due to covid. The Black Ferns were crowned world champions at Eden Park in Auckland.

Renee is the first winner of the Tania Dalton Foundation Trustees Award. 

She re-signed with Matatū for the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki Season. In the upset win of Matatū over Chiefs Manawa in the final of the 2023 season Holmes contributed 23 points. Increased family commitments meant she was unwilling to spend long periods away from her home in Hamilton training in Christchurch if she re-signed with Matatū for the 2024 Super Rugby season. She approached Chiefs Manawa coach Crystal Kaua about the possibly of a contract and was successful.