Angry Leinster fans lay blame on club and IRFU for controversial James Lowe exit

A sad day.

The 33-year-old has been linked with a move to Japanese club, Tokto Suntory Songoliath.

It has been reported that Lowe is unhappy with how things ended with Leinster and had hoped to stay on to compete with Ireland in the 2027 World Cup.

Last November, Lowe described the World Cup as his, "north star" and "something you really want to get to."

Despite being a pivotal figure in Irish rugby, the 33-year-old was never offered a central contract by the IRFU, meaning he has always remained under Leinster's provincial contract.

The union is understood to have contributed to his Leinster contract with a PONI (player of national interest) top-up.

However, it is believed that the contribution was significantly lower this time around.

This left Leinster in complete control over his signature terms and in the end Lowe was offered a lower salary, something that the New Zealand-born man didn't feel reflected his quality.

As a result, contract talks broke down, which is seen as a quite a disappointment to Ireland's head coach Andy Farrell.

Fans have given their say on the treatment of the legendary winger on social media.

"An absolute thundering disgrace! Shame on all those who let this happen. Lowe an absolute legend! Thank you for everything, James," said an X user.

Another supporter had quite the dramatic reaction to the news: "This will go down as the greatest travesty to ever happen to Leinster. I’ve been a season ticket holder for nearly 15 years.

"I’m actually considering cancelling it for the first time ever over how the club failed to stand up for a man who has given blood, sweat and tears for us."

David Humphreys has received quite the criticism for his role with central contracts: "Absolutely disgraceful. Humphreys agenda to make all 4 provinces equal is to deplete Leinster of good players so the calibre is brought down to the three provinces level. Big mistake IRFU."

"Absolutely crazy letting a player of James quality leave. He's still one of Leinster's and Ireland's top players," said a final supporter.