AS HE PREPARES to make his first Leinster start in almost four months at Thomond Park later today, James Lowe finds himself in a good place on and off the rugby field.

After missing out on the opening two rounds of the Six Nations with a hamstring injury, he returned to help Ireland secure their first Triple Crown since 2018 and end the competition as joint top try-scorer alongside French duo Damian Penaud and Gabin Villière. A subsequent trip to Las Vegas followed for Lowe, where he tied the knot with long-term partner Arnica Palmer.

He only arrived back from Nevada last Sunday, but was forced to immediately switch his focus to this weekend’s United Rugby Championship meeting with arch rivals Munster in Limerick (kick-off 7pm). Even though the Nelson native has only managed two appearances off the bench at provincial level since starting a Champions Cup victory against Bath back on December 11, he is ready to hit the ground running again.

“I’m really happy with where I am physically and mentally at the moment. The rugby is probably a byproduct of all the things I’ve worked on off the field. A bit of resilience was needed. Tough enough conversations, looks in the mirror. That is all part of being professional,” Lowe acknowledged.

“If you want to play in the biggest games under the brightest lights you need to make sure you get all your bits right. I feel like I’m on top of that. The problem is how long can you hold onto that form because rugby is a rollercoaster just like any other sport. With the amazing highs there has been, you know there are tremendous lows that come with it. I’m going to hold onto this as long as I can.”

While Lowe has played in lots of memorable games during his time at Leinster, a 26-17 reversal to Munster at Thomond on December 29, 2018 was one he’d much rather forget. In the 32nd minute of a Pro14 derby clash, he was red carded for tackling future Ireland team-mate Andrew Conway in the air.

Aside from Lowe’s dismissal, the eastern province generally struggled to find their feet in a tempestuous affair and since then it has been a constant challenge for the squad to avoid repeating the same mistakes made on that particular trip down south.

“What we took away from that game is we’re always trying to find the perfect balance between aggression and making sure you’re sticking to the plan. Obviously there was my red card, I think Tadhg [Furlong] got done for a yellow. We got into almost a fist fight with a team that’s big and they want to take you into a scrap.

“We needed to make sure that we could stay as cool, calm and collected going into the rest of the season after that. We were frustrated with ourselves more than anything, but I guess after that game we knew what we had to do and not get dragged down into that fist fight.

“We’re playing our rugby on our terms and so is every other team. It’s very easy to say, but we knew that we got it wrong that day.”

When Lowe joined their ranks from the Chiefs in the autumn of 2017, Leinster had just gone through three successive seasons without silverware. The landscape is completely different now, however, with the 29-year-old winger having significantly aided his current employers on their march to five trophies in the past four years.

Their recent run of success means there is never any lack of motivation when it comes to chasing top honours, but with the soon-to-be-retired Devin Toner heading up a list of summer departures from the squad, Lowe admits there is an even greater incentive to push on for the remainder of the campaign.

“Unfortunately for a team like Leinster, if you don’t win trophies, you don’t really remember it for the right reasons. Obviously Dev has announced his retirement at the end of the season, a stalwart of Irish and Leinster rugby. Someone who has come through the system and represented the club with his heart on his sleeve,” Lowe added.

“He’s a great person to have in the training room, he’s surprisingly funny. He’s awkward in his physical appearance, he has accepted that. He’s a dork, man, that’s what he is! He loves his cooking. He’s a family man now, but he’s given so much to Irish rugby that he deserves a trophy to end his career on.

“He deserves more than one trophy. If we can put ourselves in position to win a couple of trophies at the end of the season, we’re not just going to remember it for the trophy but for sending Dev off with what he deserves.”