LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen said the province hope to retain experienced Ireland wing James Lowe beyond the end of this season.
33-year-old Lowe is out of contract this summer but Cullen indicated that negotiations remain ongoing.
Back in March, Ireland boss Andy Farrell expressed his expectation that Lowe will remain in Irish rugby leading into the 2027 World Cup, with the powerful wing very much still in Farrell’s plans.
Lowe missed out on selection for this year’s Six Nations opener against France but returned to the team with an excellent performance against Italy before he was injured in the first half of Ireland’s big win against England in Twickenham.
Lowe hasn’t played for Leinster since due to the groin issue, which required surgery, but he is now back in training with the province and hopes to make a return to action soon.
His future beyond the end of the campaign is still up in the air for now. Cullen said that Lowe has remained on a Leinster contract despite his importance to Ireland over the last number of years, which often results in players getting IRFU national contracts.
“He’s always been on a Leinster contract,” said Cullen, “never been on a national contract.”
So despite Farrell’s interest in Lowe continuing to feature in the Ireland set-up, Leinster have responsibility for re-contracting the player.
Cullen said it would be positive if Leinster and Lowe can reach an agreement ahead of next season.
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“Definitely, yeah,” said Cullen when asked if Lowe is someone Leinster would like to keep.
“James is great in terms of the character that he has, his ability you’ve seen over the years as well. So, yeah, let’s see how that plays out. But it would be great to have James here next year.
“It’s playing out. It’s still playing out, so yeah, there’s still a few loose ends around the place at the moment that need to be tidied up, and that would be one of them.”
Cullen said that Lowe had suffered “a minor setback” in his recovery from the groin injury recently, meaning Leinster had to hold him back a little longer than initially expected.
Meanwhile, Cullen confirmed that Springboks lock RG Snyman, whose campaign was ended by an ACL injury, is definitely contracted for next season.
“Yeah, he’s around next year,” said Cullen of Snyman.
Leinster’s two other current non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] players, Rieko Ioane and Rabah Slimani, are both leaving at the end of the current campaign.
As things stand, Leinster haven’t confirmed the addition of any new NIQ players for next season. Indeed, they haven’t announced any new signings at all, although Joey Carbery and Peter Dooley are expected to join.
Cullen said there definitely won’t be another short-term signing from New Zealand following in the footsteps of Jordie Barrett and Ioane, given that 2027 is a World Cup year.
IRFU restrictions also factor into any decisions about future NIQ recruitment.
“We’re always looking at how you add to the group, but it has to fit in with the union remit as well,” said Cullen.
“That’s obviously number one and where it fits in with the depth chart and who the national selectors want to come through. That’s always the landscape that we deal in.
“Listen, it is what it is. I know fans want… there’s a great excitement when you have a marquee player. Rieko is a great example this year. Someone who has added in lots of ways to the group. Someone like a Jordie last season as well, and all the players who have gone before in the past.
RG Snyman will be with Leinster next season. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
“That’s a constant conversation from a union point of view. Specifically to that All Black marquee player, that’s not going to happen next year because that just doesn’t fit for the way this season is laid out.
“I think New Zealand players need to be playing in that set-up to be considered for a World Cup, so obviously that would keep a lot of talent in the country, so that won’t be something that we’ll be doing anyway. If there’s somebody else, we’ll wait and see. We’re always looking but, as we know, there’s pretty tight parameters there as well.”
Leinster face the Lions of South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in the URC tomorrow and Cullen has announced a much-changed starting XV following last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulon.
The Leinster boss said several factors went into the selection, including the IRFU’s player management restrictions, wanting to give players opportunities to impress, and the injury situation.
Tadhg Furlong has missed out again as he continues his recovery from injury, but Cullen gave a positive update on the experienced tighthead as the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux on 23 May looms.
“He did some part of training yesterday, which was positive,” said Cullen. “So we’ll see how he progresses. So yeah, looking reasonably OK at the moment.”
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'It would be great to have James here next year... It's still playing out'
LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen said the province hope to retain experienced Ireland wing James Lowe beyond the end of this season.
33-year-old Lowe is out of contract this summer but Cullen indicated that negotiations remain ongoing.
Back in March, Ireland boss Andy Farrell expressed his expectation that Lowe will remain in Irish rugby leading into the 2027 World Cup, with the powerful wing very much still in Farrell’s plans.
Lowe missed out on selection for this year’s Six Nations opener against France but returned to the team with an excellent performance against Italy before he was injured in the first half of Ireland’s big win against England in Twickenham.
Lowe hasn’t played for Leinster since due to the groin issue, which required surgery, but he is now back in training with the province and hopes to make a return to action soon.
His future beyond the end of the campaign is still up in the air for now. Cullen said that Lowe has remained on a Leinster contract despite his importance to Ireland over the last number of years, which often results in players getting IRFU national contracts.
“He’s always been on a Leinster contract,” said Cullen, “never been on a national contract.”
So despite Farrell’s interest in Lowe continuing to feature in the Ireland set-up, Leinster have responsibility for re-contracting the player.
Cullen said it would be positive if Leinster and Lowe can reach an agreement ahead of next season.
“Definitely, yeah,” said Cullen when asked if Lowe is someone Leinster would like to keep.
“James is great in terms of the character that he has, his ability you’ve seen over the years as well. So, yeah, let’s see how that plays out. But it would be great to have James here next year.
“It’s playing out. It’s still playing out, so yeah, there’s still a few loose ends around the place at the moment that need to be tidied up, and that would be one of them.”
Cullen said that Lowe had suffered “a minor setback” in his recovery from the groin injury recently, meaning Leinster had to hold him back a little longer than initially expected.
Meanwhile, Cullen confirmed that Springboks lock RG Snyman, whose campaign was ended by an ACL injury, is definitely contracted for next season.
“Yeah, he’s around next year,” said Cullen of Snyman.
Leinster’s two other current non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] players, Rieko Ioane and Rabah Slimani, are both leaving at the end of the current campaign.
As things stand, Leinster haven’t confirmed the addition of any new NIQ players for next season. Indeed, they haven’t announced any new signings at all, although Joey Carbery and Peter Dooley are expected to join.
Cullen said there definitely won’t be another short-term signing from New Zealand following in the footsteps of Jordie Barrett and Ioane, given that 2027 is a World Cup year.
IRFU restrictions also factor into any decisions about future NIQ recruitment.
“We’re always looking at how you add to the group, but it has to fit in with the union remit as well,” said Cullen.
“That’s obviously number one and where it fits in with the depth chart and who the national selectors want to come through. That’s always the landscape that we deal in.
“Listen, it is what it is. I know fans want… there’s a great excitement when you have a marquee player. Rieko is a great example this year. Someone who has added in lots of ways to the group. Someone like a Jordie last season as well, and all the players who have gone before in the past.
“That’s a constant conversation from a union point of view. Specifically to that All Black marquee player, that’s not going to happen next year because that just doesn’t fit for the way this season is laid out.
“I think New Zealand players need to be playing in that set-up to be considered for a World Cup, so obviously that would keep a lot of talent in the country, so that won’t be something that we’ll be doing anyway. If there’s somebody else, we’ll wait and see. We’re always looking but, as we know, there’s pretty tight parameters there as well.”
Leinster face the Lions of South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in the URC tomorrow and Cullen has announced a much-changed starting XV following last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulon.
The Leinster boss said several factors went into the selection, including the IRFU’s player management restrictions, wanting to give players opportunities to impress, and the injury situation.
Tadhg Furlong has missed out again as he continues his recovery from injury, but Cullen gave a positive update on the experienced tighthead as the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux on 23 May looms.
“He did some part of training yesterday, which was positive,” said Cullen. “So we’ll see how he progresses. So yeah, looking reasonably OK at the moment.”
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contract talks James Lowe Leinster Leo Cullen niq RG Snyman