'I was absolutely b*****ed' - James Lowe breaks silence on Chris Ashton's 'too big, too heavy, too slow' comments
James Lowe has responded to Chris Ashton’s comments about how the Leinster star is ‘too big, too heavy, too slow’ following the Autumn Nations Cup clash between Ireland and England in November.
Lowe appeared slow to cover back to cover a chip ahead by May when the England winger scored his 85 metre wonder try in their 18 – 7 defeat of Ireland in Round Three of the tournament on November 21st. Ashton wasn’t the only one to criticise Lowe’s endurance after the match, but his comments grabbed headlines.
‘If I was a winger on the opposite side of the pitch from Jonny; say I was James Lowe on the Ireland team… when Jonny shanks that kick across the pitch my job is to go across the pitch and get the ball,” said the former England winger. ‘Where was James Lowe? He’s dragging a dresser back there. He’s too big. He’s dragging a tractor, mate, turning. I watched him during the game. He is too big, too heavy, too slow.’
Now the 106kg winger has had an opportunity to address the criticism head-on. Speaking on The Offload podcast, Lowe explained the four phases that lead up to try and had left him ‘b******ed’.
“I don’t listen to much of the reporting that’s going on, due to the fact that a lot of the people that report on rugby will report on the football at the weekend and when Wimbledon comes up, all of a sudden they’re tennis pros, then McGregor will fight and they’ve fought in an undercard in the UFC. That’s my general opinion of it.
“For it to come from a player, someone that is recently out of the sport, to another person who’s just coming on to the international stage, it’s so tough. You know Zeebs, you miss one moment and all of a sudden Jonny May scores one of the tries of the year and that there could have easily been stopped by me if I had gone back, if I had literally just done my job.
“I take that on the chin any day of the week.
“If you want to look into what really led up to that. We got into the position, we were in, because I chased a kick, and hit Billy, and tried to be a nuisance at the ruck.
“I ran back and then turned around and chased a box kick. Ended up getting us a penalty, we kicked the corner, then that’s how the lineout happened. I was absolutely b*****ed at that stage and that’s no excuse, by any means, because it’s international rugby. This is what’s expected of you, that’s your job.
“I should have been there. I take it on the chin.”
Podcast regular Simon Zebo says he thought Lowe had a “great game” and that in normal circumstances, someone would have made ‘the tackle on the edge, and you would have got your 20-second breather.’
“Like you said a lot of people came out of the woodwork. I don’t read all that sort of stuff,’ said Lowe. ‘You start getting opinions from people who haven’t played rugby since schoolboy stuff. ‘Ah yeah, I could have made it’ That’s what they say at the pub.”
"Is it really a Chris Ashton thing to do? Just to leave a club like that [mid-season]? It’s not.”https://t.co/3oc9OXIJGe
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 11, 2020
“If we had won that game, barely a thing would have been said [of Lowe’s failure to cover across]. It would have been ‘Jonny May’s amazing try’, it wouldn’t have been ‘Lowie didn’t chase back’. It’s such a fickle game.
“The way I like to look at it is that as a sportsman, you literally you have an exam every weekend, but it’s not just one person marking the exam, all of a sudden it’s X amount of people, it’s everybody at home watching on TV, they’re all marking the exam as well, they’re all wagging the finger. They’ve all got a voice on social media and they’re not afraid to use it.”
“That’s all part and parcel of professional sport. Take it on the chin mate, the sun’s going to come up and I’m going to get another chance. And Jesus, if Chris Ashton was there,” quipped Lowe to conclude the matter.
Comments on RugbyPass
Sounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
1 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
12 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
29 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
29 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
21 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
12 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
12 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
29 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
29 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
29 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
29 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
12 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
29 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
29 Go to comments