Michael Lowry (born 20 August 1998) is an Irish

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player from Northern Ireland who plays fullback and out-half for

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

and European Rugby Champions Cup side

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, and internationally for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Doubted early on because of his small stature, he has exceptional footwork and acceleration. Ireland coach Andy Farrell describes him as a "nightmare" to play against, praising his explosiveness and bravery. Born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, Lowry attended

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

and captained the school to a Medallion Shield and three Ulster Schools' Cups in a row between 2015 and 2017, and represented

at under-17, under-18 and under-19 level, as well as Ireland at under-19 level. After leaving school, he joined the Ulster academy ahead of the 2017–18 season. He debuted for Ireland under-20s in their final match of the

2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eleventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in France by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played in the tournamen ...

against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, which Ireland won 39–33. He made his senior debut for Ulster on 29 September 2018, featuring off the bench in the province's 64–7 defeat at the hands of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. He made his European Rugby Champions Cup debut in Ulster's 24–10 win against English side

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in round 1 of the 2018–19 tournament on 13 October 2018. In 2018–19 he made sixteen appearances, including twelve starts, scored two tries, with 38 defenders beaten and 17 clean breaks. He was named Academy Player of the Season in the 2019 Ulster Rugby Awards. He signed his first senior contract with Ulster in February 2019, joining the senior squad ahead of the 2019–20 season. That season he made seven appearances, including 3 starts, but his season was curtailed by an ankle injury that required surgery. In 2020–21 he made 22 appearances, including 18 starts, scoring 53 points, making 159 carries with 54 defenders beaten and 15 clean breaks, and being named Man of the Match twice. He was named at fullback in the

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''P ...

Dream Team, and was invited to train with the Ireland squad for the 2021 summer internationals. In 2021–22 he made 20 appearances, including 15 starts, and scored 22 points. He was called up to the Ireland squad for the

2022 Six Nations Championship The 2022 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, ...

, making his debut, and scoring two tries and providing a try assist, against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was named on the long list for EPCR European Player of the Year for his performances with Ulster in the Champions Cup, finishing the competition first in run metres with 770 and joint first for defenders beaten with 29. He was nominated for the Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year award by Rugby Players Ireland, and was named Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Player of the Year. He was called up to the Ireland squad for their 2022 tour of New Zealand. He made his 100th Ulster appearance against the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

in May 2024.

International Tries

''As of 28 February 2022''

References

External links

Ulster Rugby profileUnited Rugby Championship profile
*
Banbridge RFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowry, Michael 1998 births Living people Rugby union players from Belfast People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Irish rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Ireland international rugby union players