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Jonah Lowe (born 9 May 1996) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a wing or centre for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and for the Highlanders in Super Rugby.

Early career

Lowe was born and raised in Hastings, and is a younger brother of former Māori All Blacks, Hurricanes and Hawke's Bay loose forward Karl Lowe.

Lowe initially attended St. John's College in Hastings, before moving to Auckland where he went to King's College for his final two years of high school. While there, he turned out for the college's first XV. In 2013, he helped them reach the semi-finals of Auckland's 1A Rugby Competition and finished on top of the individual 1A try-scoring ladder. In 2014, he also played for Auckland and the Blues at under-18 level.

After graduating high school, Lowe headed back home to his native Hawke's Bay where he played for Clive Rugby & Sports Club in the province's club rugby competition. In February 2015, he was named in the first Under 20 team in the Hurricanes' history for a game against their Blues counterparts.

Senior career

In 2015, his first year out of school, Lowe was named in the Hawke's Bay ITM Cup squad. He made his Magpies debut against Canterbury - in the 13 jersey - on 12 September 2015. He played two more games that first season. Since then, he has cemented himself as a regular starter for the Magpies. Lowe's personal stats over the years have been excellent, including several tries and try assists each season. During the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season, the Magpies won the Ranfurly Shield (taking it off Otago), were successful in three more Ranfurly Shield defences (against Northland, Manawatu and Wellington), and won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship. Lowe scored two tries in the Championship Final against Northland, helping his team secure a well-deserved promotion to the Premiership division.

Following the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season, at the end of which Lowe was named 'Magpies Back of the Year', he was called up by the Hurricanes as cover for injured Hawke's Bay team mate Geoff Cridge. He trained with the Hurricanes during preseason and played for the franchise at the 2017 Brisbane Global Rugby Tens. Following that tournament, he was offered a full Hurricanes contract.

Lowe was - for the first time - named in the Hurricanes squad for the 2018 Super Rugby season. On 26 May 2018, he made his Super Rugby and Hurricanes debut against the Crusaders. Due to an unfortunate string of injuries, as well as otherwise being given limited playing opportunities, Lowe only played four games for the Hurricanes during his years at the franchise.

At the end of 2020, Lowe moved franchises and was named in the Chiefs squad for the 2021 Super Rugby season. He made his debut for the franchise on 5 March 2021 against the Highlanders and scored his first Super Rugby try on 17 April 2021 against the Crusaders. He played two seasons for the Chiefs in which he played 18 games and scored 7 tries. His most memorable game during this time was the Chiefs' 51–27 win over the Waratahs on 22 April 2022, in which he scored 4 tries.

On 23 June 2022, the Highlanders announced that Lowe had signed a three-year contract with the Dunedin-based franchise. Highlanders Head Coach Clarke Dermody mentioned: "What I like most about Jonah is the combination of pace and power that he possesses, and they are two great assets for any winger. He will strengthen our outsides and in combination with our other Jona (Nareki) will give us some more strike force out wide. I also like his work ethic, he’s a busy player that works hard with and without the ball." Lowe made his Highlanders debut on 25 February 2023 against the Blues.

International career

In 2014, Lowe was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team that played matches against Australian Schools and Fiji Schools.

Two years later, he was selected for the New Zealand Under-20 side that competed at the 2016 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship and 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.

In 2017, Lowe was part of the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians team that played the opening game of the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

A year later, Lowe - who is of Ngāti Pikiao descent - was a member of the Māori All Blacks squad that toured the United States, Brazil and Chile. He made his Māori All Blacks debut on 3 November 2018 against the USA and scored a try in each of the three matches of the tour.

References

1. "2023 Magpies squad release". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
2. ^ "Youth and experience to bolster 2023 squad" (Press release). Highlanders. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
3. ^ "Sevens Rugby: Lowe backs bro's call at own pace". Hawke's Bay Today. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
4. "Blues Under 18 teams to face Chiefs" (Press release). Blues. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
5. "First Hurricanes Under-20 side named" (Press release). Hurricanes. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
6. "Magpies 2015 ITM Squad named" (Press release). Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
7. "Making Magpies starting line up big step up". Hawke's Bay Today. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
8. "Jonah Lowe Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
9. "Ranfurly Shield roundabout continues". New Zealand Rugby. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
10. "Magpies crowned kings of the Championship". New Zealand Rugby. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
11. "Lowe cracks Canes Tens squad". Hawke's Bay Today. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
12. "Hurricanes Squad Named For Global Tens". allblacks.com (Press release). 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
13. "Napier match set to add to Hawke's Bay's Hurricanes legacy" (Press release). Hurricanes. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
14. "Hurricanes 2018 squad announced" (Press release). Hurricanes. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
15. "New midfield combination to face the Crusaders" (Press release). Hurricanes. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
16. "Hurricanes confirm another four players for 2020 roster" (Press release). Hurricanes. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
17. "Super Rugby: Crusaders beat Hurricanes in opening trial game". Stuff New Zealand. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
18. "2021 Gallagher Chiefs squad announced" (Press release). Chiefs. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
19. "Gallagher Chiefs named for their 2021 season opener against the Highlanders" (Press release). Chiefs. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
20. "Match centre: Chiefs v Crusaders". SANZAAR. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
21. "Match centre: Chiefs v NSW Waratahs". SANZAAR. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
22. "Highlanders named to face Blues in season opener" (Press release). Highlanders. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
23. "New Zealand Schools and Barbarian Schools teams named". allblacks.com (Press release). 24 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
24. "New Zealand Under 20 side named for Oceania tournament". allblacks.com (Press release). 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
25. "NZ squad named for World Rugby Under 20 Championship". allblacks.com (Press release). 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
26. "Provincial Barbarians squad for opening match of DHL NZ Lions Series named". allblacks.com (Press release). 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
27. "Provincial Barbarians team named for Lions encounter". allblacks.com (Press release). 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
28. "Maori All Blacks squad named for historic tour". allblacks.com (Press release). 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
29. "Maori All Blacks team named to face USA Eagles, Chicago". allblacks.com (Press release). 2 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2021.

External links

• NZ Rugby History profile
• Highlanders profile

• 1996 births
• Living people
• Ngāti Pikiao people
• New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent
• People educated at King's College, Auckland
• People educated at St John's College, Hastings
• New Zealand rugby union players
• Rugby union players from Hastings, New Zealand
• Rugby union centres
• Rugby union wings
• Hawke's Bay rugby union players
• Hurricanes (rugby union) players
• Chiefs (Super Rugby) players
• Māori All Blacks players
• Highlanders (rugby union) players