It didn’t take long for James Lowe to make his mark on Super Rugby. In his very first match for the two-time champion Chiefs, last year’s Waimea Old Boys captain ran the length of the field to score the match winning try against the Crusaders.
James was initially named on the bench, but his debut came slightly earlier than expected when 100 cap All Black Mills Muliaina was struck down by injury in the first half.
Mills is a player James grew up admiring, and he says it’s a dream come true to be playing alongside one of the legends of New Zealand rugby.
And although he’s already scored two tries, James says Super Rugby is certainly a step up. “The hits are harder, the games are faster, the amount of work and preparation is a lot more. You’re working ten hour days, four to five days a week just to prepare for your next opponent,” says the 21 year old winger, who was back in Nelson to watch Waimea Old Boys take on Nelson in the first round of club rugby while he nurses a torn medial ligament injury.
When running through the moment when the former New Zealand Secondary Schools player intercepted the ball, burned off All Black fullback Israel Dagg and scored on debut, James says “instinct just took over”.
“I just thought if I stopped running I’d look like a dick. Having Israel Dagg breathing down your neck for 50 metres isn’t a very nice feeling.”
The Chiefs weren’t the only Super Rugby team that chased his signature, but the decision to join the two-time champions on a two-year deal, and to play under coaches Dave Rennie and Wayne Smith was an easy one. “I thought it’d be the best place for me to learn and to grow as a player. At the moment I’m pretty happy with where I am and don’t expect to leave anytime soon, as long as they want me.”
While unlikely to feature for Waimea Old Boys this year due to his Super Rugby commitments, James says the team is “looking pretty good” for 2014. He was wearing a Waimea Old Boys jersey during the interview and says he plans to frame it and put it on the wall of his newly bought Hamilton home.
His Super Rugby try celebration has involved a shark fin for the Tasman Makos and a W for Waimea. “It’s not for Wanderers,” James jokes. “I thought I’d get a bit of stick if I didn’t do it but Waimea is always at the back of my heart. I’m going to get this jersey framed, put it in my house just so everyone knows not to mess with us.”
