“FLY-HALF, centre, and a legend in my eyes” were the sentiments of her head coach.
Jersey RFC Women’s captain Lauren Lowe, departs the Island following a decorated career with the women in red.
Pastures new beckon for the nurse, set to move more than 10,000 miles away to Australia in the coming days.
First trotting out on the St Peter turf for the senior side at the tender age of 18 – nearly a decade later, six of those as captain – Lowe steps away “knowing the team is in safe hands.”
Since Simon Le Moignan took the reigns in 2020, the team have gone from strength to strength, with Lowe an ever-present and a key cog in the red machine.
Pretty much every landmark moment for the team over the past ten years, the former Les Quennevais pupil was at the heart of it.
From embarking on their amateur journey in the English rugby union system with the men’s side, to lifting a first ever Siam Cup in 2022, Lowe led through it all. She is a role model for young local girls looking to play rugby, a piece of the furniture of Jersey Rugby.
The St Peter-based club has lost a pioneer of the women’s game, but the Island also bids farewell to a champion of local women’s sport. However, like many girls growing up trying to forge a path in a predominantly men’s sport, Lowe’s journey was one of hardship, fight and a burning desire to beat the odds.
The 27-year-old’s bond with Jersey rugby began at six, when she joined the minis and juniors section.
“It would be safe to say it was love at first sight, “said Lowe.
“I vividly remember watching my brother play from the sidelines when I was very little. As soon as I was old enough, I was desperate to give it a go. The girls and boys are mixed from that age, so the opportunities were there for girls to play and progress in the same environment as the boys.
“Unfortunately, when we reach the age of 12, there is a split between the genders as the boys start to grow in size at a much quicker rate. I was given special allowances to play with the boys until I was 13, but after that, I had nowhere to go. We didn’t have a female set-up in Jersey at the time and therefore I couldn’t continue playing.
“I fell in love with the sport at an early age and to suddenly not be able to play school rugby anymore and also left without a team to play in at the rugby club was really difficult.”
Lowe was left in limbo – facing a torturous four-year wait before she turned 17 in order to train with the women’s first team.
After some soul searching, the Islander turned to the world of touch rugby in order to progress and refine her skill-set before returning to the contact game and she took to it like a duck to water and immediately made an impact at the highest level.
Lowe added: “Touch was a brilliant option to continue playing rugby in some capacity. It’s a brilliant game to fine tune those intricate details of the sport and I really think it helped me continue to develop and become a better player when I was allowed to return to full contact. A lot of the skills developed are very transferable to 15’s rugby.
“Even after I returned to contact rugby, I continued to play. It really helps with the ability to read a game and certain situations.”
The former Les Quennevais pupil represented Jersey touch’s senior side at just 13, earning selection to the Touch World Cup the following year. And upon entering the Jersey Reds Women fold, it was clear Lowe was special talent.
In just her fourth season with the Islanders, she was handed the captaincy, through a period that saw the side receive additional support from some of the Jersey Reds players. With Lowe’s guidance, the outfit went from strength to strength.
Exposure for the local game increased, with more girls flooding into the mini’s and juniors, determined to follow Lowe’s lead.
The 27-year-old continued: “My main goal was to set an example to girls in Jersey to look up to. The mini’s and juniors started to get more girls playing and to feel like being that inspirational figure to them was really special.”
Reflecting on her most poignant memories, Lowe explained that she can remember almost every detail from her side’s historic first Women’s Siam Cup success over the Sarnians.
“There was such a buzz around the whole day,” she added. “I vividly remember the focus and energy from the locker room, to the warm-up. Everyone was raring to go.”
If a first victory was not enough for the Caesareans, they piled 40 unanswered points onto a despondent Guernsey, in front of a home crowd in excess of 3,000. The manner of the victory made a lasting impression with those who watched.
“It felt like a really important day for us,” added the winning captain.
“Not only was it our first win over Guernsey, but the way we won really made people stand up and take notice. Off the back of that home success, we gained our biggest sponsor Hawk Group and the interest in women’s rugby in Jersey grew massively from there. That additional funding has been massive for us. Travel costs are really high and a lot of that burden was lifted. It felt like a moment that really put local women’s rugby on the map.”
A fellow veteran of the team Katie De La Cloche has been tasked with filling the large shoes left by Lowe, but the outgoing captain believes she is perfect for the role.
Lowe added: “Although it is really difficult to step away from a team that has been such a huge part of my life, I feel I am leaving it in a much better place than when I started.
“Katie is such a key member of the team and respected by everyone. I have no doubt she will be great in the position.”
For anyone worried that this will be the end of Lowe’s rugby journey, fear not. The Islander plans to join a local team once settled in Australia and is even open to the idea of trying her hand at sevens rugby and maybe even Australian rules football. Watch this space.
