JAMES Lowe and Jamie Osborne have committed their futures to Leinster and Ireland for the forthcoming years.
The pair have inked contract extensions that will keep them tied down within the Irish system though the Blues have not shared the duration of either man’s deal.
Lowe is a centrally contracted player with the IRFU and was arguably Ireland’s best performer throughout the Six Nations.
He will turn 33 in July but has shown no sign of decline – although he has been hampered by semi-regular muscle injuries such as the one he suffered in the warm-up before the France match.
Having joined from the Chiefs in 2017, he’s racked up 61 tries for Leinster in 85 appearances across all competitions.
The naturalised Kiwi made his Ireland bow in 2020 and has accumulated 40 caps under Andy Farrell and latterly Simon Easterby.
Osborne meanwhile, is an emerging star for club and country who made his senior Ireland debut in 2023.
The 23-year-old brings a great deal of versatility to any team since he can be deployed at centre, full-back or even on the wing as he was when Ireland were short of wide options against Les Bleus.
The double boost for Leinster fans comes hot on the heels of extensions being dished out to Jack Conan, Ryan Baird and Luke McGrath.
With the men’s Six Nations wrapped up for another year, Leo Cullen’s charges return to the field on Saturday afternoon.
They’ll look to maintain their 100% record in the URC down in Pretoria with a diminished squad against the Bulls.
Senior coach Jacques Nienaber spoke of the challenge that awaits them in their back-to-back fixtures in South Africa with a date with Sharks to come in Durban on March 29.
Addressing how tough it will be to get points out of their initial encounter versus the third-placed Bulls minus their Ireland contingent, he predicted: “It will be a proper Test match for us.
“It is a nice challenge for whoever is going to participate in these two matches.
“If you look at the squad Jake has built, I mean it’s a full-on international squad barring one or two positions.
“And those one or two positions are not far — they are on the radar of international selectors.
“I expect a Test-match intensity game.”
