James Lowe: From Maori All Black who faced British and Irish lions in 2017 to 2025 team members | Rugby Union News

Outside the representation of the barbarians, only two players and against the British and Irish lions played. In 2025 – with the exception of the injury – James Louis Ireland will create history to become the third.

In 1955, Irish Tom Reed Lions represented two tests against South Africa, and then played against Lions in 1959 for East Canada in Toronto after their tour in Australia and New Zealand.

About 55 years later, the England Center Ricky Flotti repeated this fence: The third test of lions began against Sprinfix in 2009, when the Lions faced Lilington in New Zealand four years ago.

In 2017, Louis began 24-year-old at Maori All Blacks, where they were defeated by 32-10 Lions in Rotorua. Eight years and 40 Irish hats later, Louis was chosen to become the British and Irish lion 2025 in their tour to Australia.

“He was a little bit of the tornado,” Louis said. Sky Sports. “I was a bag of nerves (during the announcement), it was the top of my eyes on my eyes because it approached the alphabet. It was a funny emotion but I was ecstatic. I am very honorable.

“I grew up in New Zealand and my mother Mauri, so I was qualified for Maori all the blacks. I was lucky enough to play against lions in 2017. I didn’t completely understand what I mean to be a lion at that time.

“I just fell with Lingter two months ago (for the beginning of the next season) and I was looking at the 40 men and I saw that there were many children who were playing with them in this team. Like Tadhg Furlong – I could not even utter his name at the beginning, and they were very afraid of saying! – Johnny Sixon, Sean O’Brien,

“To be honest, perhaps the first actual test of the lions there was, before his first test against New Zealand and I think they might say they really did not even do that game.

“We went to the game, believing that it might be fine. We had a wave of Milner in one of the wings, Rieko Ioane on the left and I was playing the back.

“It was the right introduction to me to test the game of the rugby match and what it really means to be a lion, and they strangled us in that evening.

“It was a wet night, it was the rugby game. They were connecting the corners, and Connor Murray was putting a square kick over me. I was there for the Rakhbi game in the fair weather, I wanted to run the ball around it and play the touch, but then I was chasing you Sean O’Brien.

“It was a very unforgettable thing. I got the Leigh Halfpenny shirt, and we exchanged after the match.”

After joining Leinster later in that summer in 2017, Louis was three years old to obtain Ireland under global residence laws of Rajabi at that time – since she changed to five years.

The strong wing continued to make a name for itself in this sport as one of the best viewers around it, where he got six titles in 2023 and 2024, in addition to more triple crown in 2022 and 2025 and its amazing 2-1 victory over all blacks in New Zealand in 2022.

However, when moving to Ireland eight years ago, Lowe says he had never thought about lions or the possibility of becoming one ever.

He says, “No one is really,” he says.

“When I got the contract offer from Lindster, I was in a state of forgetfulness with the New Zealand game, I did not create the New Zealand team. This opportunity came, a three -year deal in my mind, I thought I might be able to represent Ireland. But this is not the reason to log in.

“It was a great opportunity for myself and my wife to reach this aspect of the world, and to stay away from a network of safety from family and friends and create ourselves in a completely new culture.

“It is clear that you become an amazing lion, but it is a secondary result of many small things that occurred along the way. It is a complete circle and we are here.”

In the 2025 tour of Australia, Louis will fight for a three -back test with the likes of Tommy Freeman from England and Eleiot Dali, Dahan van der Meroy from Scotland and his Irish colleague Mac Hansen.

The 32 -year -old repeats the word “honor” when he was asked about his ideas before the tour.

“I am looking to enter the deep end. I have the honor to leave the shirt in a better place is something that I will cherish for a very long time.

“I want to go there and represent this summit on her chest with great pride and enthusiasm as much as I can.

“If I have the opportunity to represent myself and the people who came before us as best I have my ability and leaving the shirt in a better place is all you can request as a player for my leg.”

Sky Sports It will appear exclusively for the British and Irish black tour of 2025, with the three tests against Wallabies and six warm -up matches exclusively.