Irish Rugby international James Lowe has hit back against the criticism of the number of “imported” players on the British and Irish Lions tour. Former Ireland and Lions captain Willie John McBride was a high-profile critic, saying the number of players in the squad who weren’t born in Britain or Ireland ‘‘bothered’’ him. New Zealand-born Lowe is one of five players in the squad who qualified through residency, along with his Ireland team-mates Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park, as well as Scotland pair Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe. Additionally, Mack Hansen and Sione Tuipulotu were both born in Australia, but qualified for Ireland and Scotland respectively through family roots.
Lowe, who has Maori and English ancestry, made his Ireland debut in 2020 after joining Leinster in 2017. He said the recent scrutiny of his nationality is nothing new for him: ‘‘When you don’t have the blood running through your veins, there is a little bit of that criticism. When I was first selected for Ireland, all the people come out of the woodwork saying, ‘How is this person representing Ireland?’ I’m sure it was the same for Sione Tuipulotu, but the rules are there. We have all done our time. I am fully embedded in the culture of Ireland. Sione’s captained Scotland and you don’t have to question where his allegiance lies.’’ Lowe is now set to join a small group of people who have played both for and against the Lions, having been part of the Maori All Blacks team for their meeting with the Lions in 2017.
