James Lowe understands that Leinster's returning Lions must hit ground running

Lowe and all bar one of Leinster’s other 13 Lions stayed behind in Dublin the last fortnight while the rest of the squad started the URC season with that shocking 35-0 loss against the Stormers and an eight-point defeat to the Bulls, both in South Africa.

Tue, 07 Oct, 2025 - 06:43

Brendan O'Brien

James Lowe tends to run over opponents rather than dance around them and the Leinster wing is just as direct when asked why he sat out the British and Irish Lions’ third Test this past summer.

“Faz dropped me. It is what it is, mate. Sometimes that’s how it happens.”

It’s a blunt assessment, delivered with his trademark wry smile ahead of a likely playing return with Leinster against the Sharks this week, and on the back of a Lions tour which wasn’t nearly as underwhelming for him as some have painted.

Lowe started the first two Tests and contributed in both. If he never quite hit top gear in Australia then it still proved to be an overwhelmingly positive experience for the Ireland veteran in what must now be the closing few chapters of his career.

He looks back and laughs at how ridiculously relaxed Finn Russell was on game day. Tommy Freeman’s youth and potential to be even better again blew him away. Elliott Daly’s rugby brain and left boot made a huge impression before the England man was forced home early.

Players down the years have always spoken about the nuggets picked up on those tours, and plenty have reflected on how difficult it was to pick themselves up again for the daily bread that is club rugby the season after such a feast of experiences.

“I fully understand what you mean because to play against [the Lions] it's like Everest, and to play for them it’s literally like being on Everest. So mate, [playing rugby] is what we’re paid to do.

"It’s what we have to do. If we don't keep showing up, other people will take the spot. You can't come down off this mountain and expect things to happen for you.”

Sean O’Brien and a few other members of the senior coaching staff put them through their paces in UCD alongside a number of academy players who, Lowe believes, now have an intimate knowledge of how things work for the next generation.

If that counts as money in the bank for a rainy day down the line then the onus now is on reintegrating with those coming back from South Africa and gelling in time to get that first win under their belts at the weekend.

“We will give them a cuddle for a couple of days, but then after that it's business as usual,” said Lowe. “There'll be a fair few more South Africans lining up. There's a bit of blood in the water. So hopefully we can turn it around and put in a performance at home that we're really happy with, and can set us right for the rest of this competition.”

Leinster sit second from bottom of the URC table, and only the Ospreys have conceded more than their ten tries after two rounds, but Lowe exudes an air of calm confidence when predicting that the province will find the answers needed in the weeks to come.

The pity might be that they break up again so soon again given there are only three more URC rounds before the November internationals that kick off with a repeat of Ireland’s historic defeat of the All Blacks in Chicago.

Lowe was there that day, but in the stands, having played for the Maori All Blacks against the USA the evening before and spent some of the build-up to the big one drinking cans with Brad Weber.

That’s nine years ago now. The rematch is just four weekends away and it leaves Lowe and the rest of the Leinster Lions with little in the way of time to get back up to speed against a side that is barely finished with another Rugby Championship campaign.

“We need to hit the ground running. Even after the last two performances that, as a club, that we put in, we definitely need to put in the performance this weekend. And there's a few big boys coming back into the mix.

“What you expect of them is to perform and be to the best of their abilities. Everyone's fresh and frisky and ready to rumble. So I don't see why that can't happen.”