On a day of heroic performances, the Leinster winger took the cake.
In rugby terms, James Lowe had a rough 2020. He just wasn’t himself.
Lowe, like the rest of us, had to fret and follow news updates as the whole world ground to a halt. Rugby was put on ice due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Lowe was in constant touch with friends and family back home.
When rugby was finally able to resume, albeit in empty stadiums, Lowe made his long-awaited Ireland debut. He scored a try against Wales and looked at home, but injury and fitness issues caught up with him in his next couple of outings.
In one outing, against England, that lack of match sharpness showed as Jonny May ran one in from deep and Peter O’Mahony out-paced Lowe [more on them, later] as Ireland struggled to scramble back and prevent the score.
Lowe’s flagging performance drew criticism from former England winger [and current player] Chris Ashton, on the BBC. Ashton may not have been aware that Lowe was carrying a leg injury, but declared the former New Zealand Maori winger was ‘too big’ and ‘too heavy’ for Test rugby. In return, Lowe told us:
“I wouldn’t mind having him in front of me, that’s for sure.”
Lowe featured in four of Ireland’s 2021 Six Nations games, but was not at the same level that thrilled Leinster fans in his first three seasons with the province. Jacob Stockdale took his spot for the Six Nations finale victory over England, although neither featured heavily in British & Irish Lions conversations [almost unthinkable even 12 months before].
The 29-year-old used the summer to get back in good playing shape and Andy Farrell rewarded him with the No.11 jersey [ahead of Jordan Larmour, Robert Baloucoune, Keith Earls and Simon Zebo] against Japan. Lowe repaid his head coach’s faith with a try and over 130+ metres gained in a thumping win.
Following that match, Farrell did not spare Lowe’s feelings when he revealed the winger had rediscovered his focus, and lost a few pounds when he was at it.
“Who said that?” Lowe asked when informed of those comments. “Andy said it? He said it twice? I’ll have to have a word with him!”
Even the man himself admitted, during those stretches when he was battling his own body, to having doubts. It is only natural, especially when the outside noise is so critical.
Whomever or whatever they are saying to Lowe, it is working a treat. He has his mojo back.
James Lowe gets Ireland off to perfect start
The Japan game was a taster of what was to come against New Zealand. It all started with a couple of carries and tackles to get himself into the game, then the game exploded into life.
A cross-field kick found Will Jordan running at speed and he brushed past Hugo Keenan and looked likely to score. Lowe was not having it. He charged over and took Jordan down, before Garry Ringrose and Andrew Conway combined to repel Jordie Barrett.
Not long after Codie Taylor had been sent to the sin-bin, Lowe was the beneficiary of a slick Irish attack and Keenan passing superbly to his left:
Hugo can’t pass left, that’s the problem!!
— James Lowe (@JamesLowe_03) November 9, 2021
That was the opener for Ireland, but the All Blacks stayed well in the contest with a couple of converted tries and two Barrett penalties.
Lowe was on it all night, though. If Ireland lost, this one would not be on him. He was doing more than his fair share and gleefully mopping up if anyone else needed a dig out. The only time he spilled a high ball, Keenan was there to scramble back and recover possession.
Amongst the graft, there were moments of vintage Lowe class. When TJ Perenara tried to relieve an Ireland bombardment on his tryline, Lowe took the ball at full pelt, just in touch and hammered himself back down their throats. With black jerseys converging on him, his bullet of a flat pass put Jack Conan searing through a gap.
James Lowe saves the say with man-and-ball tackle
And then came his coup-de-grace and a moment of real redemption.
On 71 minutes, with Ireland leading 23-20, Ardie Savea broke a tackle, just outside his 22, and offloaded to David Havili. The Crusaders flyer beat tackles from Joey Carbery and Garry Ringrose before flinging a pass to Rieko Ioane.
Lowe assessed the threat and took a big gamble here. He cut inside – rather than staying out wide – and backed himself to get there in time to make a man-and-ball tackle on Ioane.
That he did, and then some.
Rieko Ioane of New Zealand is tackled by James Lowe at the Aviva Stadium. (Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile)Ioane was wrapped up in a crunching tackle and could not get the ball away. Lowe dragged him to the deck [see the clip from 3:45 below].
Peter O’Mahony [remember him from earlier?] was back with a jackal that won his side a massive penalty.
Lowe knew how big a moment that was. So did O’Mahony. So did everyone in the ground.
Not only did it prevent a certain try – Ioane would have had a 3-on-1 if he had evaded Lowe – it chewed up the clock and gave Ireland a chance at three points. When Carbery slotted the long-range penalty, the hosts were nearly there.
New Zealand need to be reversed over before you can ever confidently claim to have flattened them. That moment came when Tadhg Beirne won another penalty that Carbery would convered.
Lowe was still out there, and had the honour of kicking the ball into the stands to end the match.
It has taken longer than he would have liked, but he is starting to live up to his Test promise.
