Leinster have today confirmed the signing of James Lowe from the Chiefs. Lowe is 24, and has played most of his rugby on the wing with the Chiefs. His scoring record is prolific: he has bagged 18 tries in 39 appearances for the Chiefs. The landing of Lowe is somewhat of a coup for the province, given that Lowe leaves Super Rugby on the cusp of breaking into the All Blacks squad. He has been involved with the Maori All Blacks up to now, and has scored six tries in five appearances. One of those came against Munster in Thomond Park last November, against whom he scored a try.
Leo Cullen told the Leinster website:
James is a quality and still relatively young outside back that we have been tracking for some time, so we are delighted that he has agreed to join us.
James has picked up considerable experience from his time with the Tasman Makos, the Chiefs and the Maori All Blacks. We hope he can bring the learnings from his time spent with these teams and really add to our environment here.
Lowe himself was quoted in the New Zealand media as saying that he is not ruling out a return to New Zealand in the future:
This decision has not been an easy one. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an All Black, but at this stage of my life and for my future, I feel this is the best decision for me.
Leinster are a very competitive side and I am looking forward to challenging myself in another professional environment.
I am not ruling out returning to NZ rugby. At 24 I feel my best years are still to come. But for this stage of my life and with an eye to the future, I have to set myself and my future family up so they can have every opportunity in life to succeed.
Accompanying their announcement, Leinster included his highlight reel, which looks pretty damn exciting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-yxEwyg2YQ
Lowe will likely be a replacement for Zane Kirchner at Leinster.
