Ireland's James Lowe Faces Six Nations Setback with Groin Injury
Wing James Lowe has been ruled out of Ireland's two remaining Six Nations matches due to a groin injury. Lowe was substituted for Tommy O'Brien just 20 minutes into Ireland's stunning 42-21 victory at Allianz Stadium. Before the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) confirmed the news on Thursday, Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby acknowledged that the 33-year-old Leinster player was "struggling". Easterby stated: "I think he's due to see someone today, a specialist. I would have thought they'd make a call on it over the next few days, but you could see when he tried to take off that he did something nasty." Despite his injury, Lowe remained active on the sidelines, contributing to the team's morale as part of the cheerleading group. Easterby remarked: "Lowey's pretty tough. He was getting up and down on the sideline when things were going well for us." Lowe, who was born in New Zealand, has earned 45 caps since making his Ireland debut in 2020 and has participated in two British and Irish Lions Tests during last summer’s tour to Australia. He played every minute of Ireland's victorious Six Nations campaigns in 2023 and 2024. Having been omitted from Andy Farrell's squad for the defeat against France earlier this month, Lowe's impressive performance in the win over Italy secured his spot in the lineup for the England match. Ireland is set to face Wales in Dublin on 6 March before hosting Scotland in their final game on 14 March.
Source: BBC Sport - 2026-02-26