Wherever James Lowe has been, he has quickly taken on the tag of a fan favourite.

At school in Nelson College on the south island of New Zealand, natural, raw athleticism marked him out as a difference-maker.

Teenage health issues slowed the progress of the high-profile basketball player, athletics champion and New Zealand schools international.

In any other country, there may have been a choice to make for a young man feeling the pull of more than one passion. Not in The Land of the Long White Cloud.

In 2012, he debuted for the Tasman Makos as a 20-year-old with special skills that were honed by coaches Kevin Keane and Leon McDonald, both former All Blacks.

Lowe was an established regular the next season when the Makos won the National Provincial Championship for the first time. He has always had a nose for the whitewash, striking for 24 tries across 46 appearances.

In 2014, he was drafted into the Chiefs squad for Super Rugby, picking off an intercept try on his debut. It wasn’t long before the powerful, punishing, offloading runner was finishing in fine style for the Hamilton-based franchise.

From 2014 to 2017, he racked up 25 tries from 53 caps, recording his best total of 11 tries in his final season at the Chiefs as he finished the season third on the Super Rugby scoring charts.

The presumption was that Lowe was on his way to wearing the All Blacks shirt. Certainly, he had the talent. But his destiny lay elsewhere.

The outward appearance of an extrovert hid a more complicated personality. Perhaps it is no surprise that he took the road less travelled, making the move to Ireland as a relative unknown in these parts.

Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen could see the value of the player as a natural try-scorer and the value of the man as a different voice in the group.

“He is a great character in the group, very, very different. What he brings is great energy always,” mused Cullen after Lowe surpassed Shane Horgan as Leinster’s leading try-scorer of all-time.

“It is amazing what he has achieved in his try-scoring record in less than half the number of caps the previous record holder had.

“He is a unique one.”

His first season with the province couldn’t have gone any better. Lowe claimed 10 tries as Leinster completed the Champions Cup and Pro14 double.

Since scoring two tries on his debut against Benetton in December 2017, Lowe has provided the thrill of 71 tries (and counting) for Leinster. Quite literally, there has been no one like him in blue.

His impact is not just felt on the pitch but off it too, where his positive energy and good vibes are easy for anyone to see. Week after week, Lowe brings the wide smile and laughter that sifts through the group.

Throughout last Saturday’s BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, you could feel the crowd willing Lowe on to break the tie with Shane Horgan on the try-scoring charts.

Every attacking move, every time the ball was spread out wide or even just any time Lowe touched the ball anywhere on the field, the supporters in the stands would rise to their feet and raise the volume.

In the 64th minute, Jimmy O’Brien dove over in the corner for Leinster’s seventh try of the evening. As the winger picked himself up, he was met immediately by Lowe, who had been running a support line just behind him.

Their eyes met and the quick smile from Lowe said it all. A missed opportunity for the record. But it wouldn’t have felt right for it to just be handed to him. He had worked hard for the previous 69 tries, so why shouldn’t he do the same for the 70th?

Leinster’s seven tries to that point had come from seven different players, and Lowe was no doubt desperate to be the eighth as the minutes slipped by in the sunshine.

When the moment finally arrived, it was quintessential Lowe. O’Brien’s flashing pass sent him into space, but there was still much to do. A typical right-handed fend and left-handed grounding led to a swarm of teammates engulfing the record-breaker...

Leinster Rugby

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