Like many New Zealand boys, Holland grew up dreaming of playing for the All Blacks.
Nothing unusual there, except the Dutchman grew up in a football-mad village in the Netherlands.
As a child, he slept between sheets with silver ferns on them and shifted out to New Zealand when he was 16 to chase his dream.
The 2.04m giant was named in the All Blacks XV this week.
He will be joined by four of his Otago team-mates.
Props George Bower and Saula Ma’u, blindside Oliver Haig and No 8 Christian Lio-Willie will also be hoping to use the tour as a springboard to get into the All Blacks.
They will play games against Georgia and Irish club side Munster.
The newly-minted 22-year-old — he had his birthday yesterday — cannot wait to slip on the black jersey again.
He played for the New Zealand under-20 team in 2022 but this is big step up and another stride towards his ultimate goal.
"It's a huge privilege," Holland said. "Any time you get to wear any black jersey, it's a massive honour.
"But, yeah, just trying to take in this moment and really enjoy it."
Holland did not get any advanced warning he was about to be named. He heard the news when everyone else did.
"I just saw the post coming up and then I was like, oh, geez, my name is in there. I pinched myself a few times and had to look really well to see if it actually was my name.
"And I called mum straight away and called dad and, yeah, nah, it was a pretty special moment."
"There are five of us Otago players, which is pretty cool.
"All of them have had an outstanding season and have been putting in a lot of hard work."
Holland spent a portion of the NPC on the sidelines with an ankle complaint. He suffered a high sprain in the game against Taranaki.
His absence was certainly felt. And once he returned he made an immediate impact.
He has a big frame and Otago’s scrum operates better when he is in it. He is also a powerful figure at the breakdown but there is still room for improvement.
"There's some things I can work on around some decision-making around the breakdown, and some other stuff around my contact area.
"You have about a million things you want to work on, but for me it's just about simplifying and picking those one or two things I want to work on and try to work at that.
"[The tour] will be a big step up. We're playing against a quality Munster team and a real strong and physical Georgia team, so the bar will be high.
"I can't wait to dig in and learn from the boys around me and learn from the coach and hopefully get some playing time."
