Ireland great accuses ex-Leinster player of ‘cry-baby stuff’, telling him to ‘wipe his tears’ about the James Lowe exit
James Lowe's exit from Irish rugby was a hot topic on a podcast co-hosted by Donncha O'Callaghan, inset (INPHO/James Crombie)
Ireland and British and Irish Lions great Donncha O’Callaghan has challenged James Tracy over the claims he made about Leinster losing James Lowe for next season.
The IRFU have adjusted its budgets for the 2026/27 season onwards, placing a greater burden on the Irish provinces footing more of the player wage bill. Despite being a regular Ireland pick under Andy Farrell, the 33-year-old Lowe had never been on a central contract during his time in Dublin, instead making his living on a player of national interest [PONI] deal.
That contract was up for renewal at the end of this season but amid the fallout over who pays what under the readjusted salary scale, Leinster refused to supplement the extra cost for Lowe. This has led to the Kiwi winger, who first arrived in the Irish capital in 2017 and was capped by Ireland three years later, deciding to take up an offer in Japan with the Suntory club.
It means this Friday’s United Rugby Championship final versus the Bulls at Croke Park will be his last appearance for Leinster, and he won’t be eligible for Farrell’s Ireland heading into a year that culminated in the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
“I would disagree with that…”
This situation has drawn the ire of ex-Leinster players, such as retired hooker Tracy, but his view angered ex-Munster lock O’Callaghan when it was put to him by Tommy Bowe on The Offload, the rugby podcast co-hosted by the former Ireland and Lions teammates.
Kickstarting their discussion about Lowe’s impending exit, Bowe said: “There has been a bit of a backlash from Leinster in this in terms of they feel they are being badly treated because they are having to let go of players, and I know James Tracy has come out and said by default we are weakening Leinster in an attempt to make the other provinces catch up.”
This claim angered O’Callaghan, who immediately went on the offensive. “I would disagree with that; I don’t think that is accurate,” he insisted, taking umbrage with the suggestion that Leinster were being purposely weakened by the IRFU to help the other provinces close the gap on them.
“We [Irish Rugby] have put the resources into them and, unfortunately, it hasn’t given the rewards we would have all wanted. Like Leinster, with the amount of central contracted players, with the amount of assets they have, they have to have won more than they have, and we are seeing it in terms of Team Ireland, it’s a better model if the other provinces are strengthened. Leinster were strengthened to an unbelievable level and haven’t got across the line at all (and won enough trophies).
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“They have the money, they have the economics, they have the Dublin market and if you look at the spend of that area… it’s blindsided, it just actually shows the way the likes of James Tracy and them think. It’s cry-baby stuff, it genuinely is, that he can’t see beyond to the other provinces.
“I know we are tough on Leinster, but that is because they should be held to account, and they are not held to account to the same standards as maybe the rest of them. When you have voices like that aired in the media, who always fan the flames for them, it would be better if he was more critical of the structures in place.
“The only one I find that does that in Leinster is Luke Fitzgerald. Take off your friendship goggles, James, and start being critical of the fact that you have all these resources, you have all these powerful schools with massive development pathways – some of the structures in those schools are better than kind of senior set-ups in other countries – and you’re not getting across the line. Start looking in instead of out, instead of bitching about we need more. Ye are not doing well enough for what ye have.”
Teasing his riposte out further, O’Callaghan suggested it would be a good thing in the long run of Farrell’s national team wasn’t so dominated by Leinster. “The IRFU are right to do that because you want the team to be a representation of the whole country, you don’t want it five kilometres around the Aviva of all the private schools around there.
“You want people to go (and support) from the north to the west to the south and be able to get behind the team. That’s why it is good with the likes of Ciaran Frawley and Will Connors leaving (Leinster and joining Connacht).
“I’d love it even if we looked at it a little bit more. Is it better sending Robbie Henshaw back home to Connacht? Everyone is quick to forget he was brought up the road to Dublin, a Connacht man, very proud, but you won’t hear Leo (Cullen) chatting to Simon Zebo about that.
“You won’t hear Leo chatting about when they were in the s*** and they were taking all the other players for the other provinces, and they still look at robbing the nest because it doesn’t serve their narrative. I wonder should the IRFU look at (national team) combinations…
“I am just making the point that if we are to look at bringing everyone up, we should keep going with it. The Henshaw one, that’s not going to happen and I am being over the top with it a little bit, but I wonder is there a conversation between the IRFU and Connacht about ye are a combination [Henshaw and Bundee Aki] and if ye can put it in every week, that’s a combo that will look really well for is and it allows us to look at the likes of (Garry) Ringrose and (Jamie) Osborne and then there is a clear path and there is more players playing.”
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O’Callaghan concluded his rebuttal by insisting the loss of a high-calibre player such as Lowe was nothing new in the Irish system, referencing the 2017 departure of Donnacha Ryan from Munster to Racing after he was unable to secure an IRFU central deal despite being a regular in Joe Schmidt’s Ireland team at the time.
“It’s not new,” continued O’Callaghan. “This has been going on for years, and we know it when you cross over from international contracts to provincial level in terms of money. It can be tough as it hits your pocket, but also there is a bit of ego in it too because you value yourself to a certain area.
“The same thing happened to the likes of Donnacha Ryan, and that led to him going overseas. So, it’s nothing new, it’s just being beat about now because it is happening with Leinster and James Tracy needs to wipe his tears and realise, ‘Welcome to the game, James, it’s been happening for the last 10 years around the other provinces and it f***ing hurts’.”
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He added: “James Tracy is saying it from a loving spot because he has seen a friend getting spat out, but that is what happens. The game is ruthless. You think all your GPS and your CMJ are for your wellness, and they are, but they are also a barometer to go: ‘That asset isn’t worth what it used to be’.
“All the eggs were in Leinster’s basket, and it hasn’t gone the way anyone wanted and now it’s time to readdress it. Leinster could fix it; they genuinely have the money to fix James Lowe; I think that’s a bit of a flex. He is the meat in a sandwich between ‘well, you pay him; he is more valuable to ye’.
“We know the ruthless end of the game, but I hope he doesn’t leave his last few months reflect his time within it. He is loved and he has left both a blue jersey and a green jersey in a better spot. I hope he looks at all his time because he has been brilliant.”
