World Cup - Golden Lions - Phil Lowe

World Cups (1) - Great Britain 1972
Tries 3

Details from the Hull Kingston Rovers Greatest Players site

Phil is a former basketball, discus and hurdles champion at Jervis High School - the same high school that later trained the talents of Paul Rose. Phil played for the Jervis High Rugby League side at loose forward, second row and centre, he later went on to captain the Hull and Yorkshire schoolboys rugby teams.
Leaving school, he joined Craven Park Juniors, for whom he played loose forward, his position in the District side, but was named in the second row for Yorkshire Juniors. Phil signed forms for Hull Kingston Rovers on his 16th birthday in January 1966, but his professional registration was delayed until the 3rd May due to junior commitments.
Phil made his first appearance in the second row with Rovers 'A', a try scoring one at Dewsbury and after some powerful displays for the reserves, he earned a place on the substitutes bench shortly after his 17th birthday but didn't make an appearance, his first team debut came in March 1967 at home against Featherstone, becoming at the time the youngest player ever to turn out as a professional for Rovers' first team.
His displays as a 6ft 2in, 16st 3lbs, second rower - on occasions for half a game to gradually 'blood' him into senior rugby, attracted widespread attention and rave reports in the press, in fact Phil is probably one of the biggest and one of the best second row forwards to ever play for Rovers, remembered for his long-striding runs and excellent defence.
At the end of the 1966/67 season in which he scored five tries and a goal in ten 'A' team appearances, Phil received the Charles Parker 'A' Team "Player of the Year" Award.
Phil's first try in first-team rugby came at York in September 1967, after winning a regular second-row spot in early season games, he was forced to play loose-forward against the touring Australians due to injuries.
His first medal came in the first all-Hull Yorkshire Cup final when Phil helped Rovers lift the cup, at the end of the season, Phil and Rovers reached the Championship final, decided on a top eight play-off, Rovers met Wakefield in the final at Headingley and although Phil had a hand in Rovers first try, it wasn't enough to win the match and Phil had to be content with a runners-up medal.
Phil earned his first representative honour in 1968 when he played in a 10-5 Yorkshire victory over Lancashire. At 18 he was thought to be the youngest forward ever to represent the White Rose side. Phil was an ever-present that season, mainly at second row but with the occasional appearances at loose-forward and centre. His efforts throughout the season where rewarded with him being named as the Supporters "Player of the Year". Due to this success, Phil was selected for the Great Britain Under 24's against France where he made an appearance as a substitute back in the second half, later that season he was also selected for England and Yorkshire, scoring a try in Yorkshire's victory over Lancashire and would he have also made another County appearance later in the year but was forced to pull out with a shoulder injury.
His first England appearance came against France shortly after Phil's 20th birthday along with fellow Rovers players Peter Flanagan and Roger Millward, Phil scored a try in the 26-7 victory and made another appearance for England two months later.
March 1970 saw Phil included as a member of the 1970 Ashes winning Great Britain Lions tour party, along with Peter Flanagan and Roger Millward, despite Phil's strapping frame he was regarded as the 'baby' of the squad. Phil made his first Test appearance against New Zealand in the Third Test in Auckland scoring two tries in the 33-16 victory.
Injury forced Phil to miss early games in the 1970/71 season, and during the summer of 1971 he underwent an operation to the shoulder which had restricted his appearances throughout the season.
His return to action in November saw his inclusion in the Great Britain squad opposing New Zealand without being called upon to play, but he was back in International rugby against France at Toulouse in February 1972.
That year saw Phil pick up two more awards, he was named "Fairest and Most Loyal Player" and as once again named as the Supporters "Player of the Year" after breaking the clubs record for most tries in a season by a forward with 26 tries, this earned Phil two tests against France in 1972 preceded by four exceptional displays in Great Britain's World Cup winning series in France, Phil's displays made him the talking point of the Rugby League world, the French press saying Britain wouldn't have won the World Cup without him, Phil scored a couple of tries during the World Cup but had a hand in many other, often very crucial tries making him the hero of the competition.
In 1973, Phil made his first appearance at Wembley with an outstanding display scoring two tries in the First Test against the visiting Australians at Wembley in 1973. He also played in the Second and Third Tests, his powerful form proving a magnet for wealthy Australian clubs, Sydney giants Manly Warringah were suitably impressed by his excellent international performances and made a move to sign him, despite Rovers' reluctance to part with him, Phil left for Brookvale for a fee of £15,000 over a three seasons, Rovers insisting on keeping him on their playing register, but for three seasons he exchanged the red and white of Rovers for the maroon and white of the Manly Sea Eagles.
In his new environment and the fierce competition of Sydney rugby, Phil took some time to settle, the Australians even tried to alter his style of play. Suddenly Phil found his true natural form which other clubs where to find devastating, and he began to earn rave reviews from the Sydney newspaper columnists similar to ones he had attracted in this country.
Phil played his part in the Manly side which won the First Grade Premiership in 1976, Phil turning on a great display in the Grand Final scoring the decisive points with his sides only try in a 13-10 victory over Parramatta. It was to be Phil's last match in Australia, completing the three-year contract he returned to England and Rovers, despite the fact that Manly intended to take up the option of a further two years.
Phil's second spell with Rovers took off in the best possible way when a more streamlined Phil, having shed a couple of stone whilst in Australia, turned out for Rovers against Workington in October 1976 making a try-scoring return to English Rugby League. The following year Phil was selected for the England team, but an operation to remove a piece of bone from his elbow intervened and forced his withdrawal from the side.
Despite Phil's International record, County appearances were comparatively few, but his third came in March 1977 when he played for Yorkshire against Lancashire at Castleford. This was followed by his recall to the Great Britain squad for the 1977 World Cup, along with teammates Roger Millward and Len Casey. Phil's selection produced a storm of protest from the Australians, who claimed he should still be a Manly player, and Phil withdrew voluntarily in an effort to restore International harmony.
The Rugby League then made a 'U' turn. After having recognised him as sufficiently a KR player to be selected for representative games, they imposed a shock suspension on him. The club lodged an appeal, included him in a Premiership First Round game against Warrington, which Rovers won in convincing fashion, only to be disqualified from the competition, Hull KR subsequently won their case in a Court of Law but this did not help either Phil or Rovers gain a second chance in the competition, but it proved that he was a Hull KR player.
Phil missed another County game in 1977 due to a gashed knee which required five stitches, but selection for England in 1978 saw him back in International recognition, although the match was hit by the weather and postponed.
Phil scored one of Yorkshire's tries in a 37-9 win over Cumbria at the Boulevard in September, 1978, and made his first Great Britain appearance for nearly five years when he won a recall to the Ashes squad and played against the Kangaroos at Odsal in the Second Test on the 5th November, with club-mates Millward, Brian Lockwood and Paul Rose.
During Phil's second spell with the club, he re-formed the more than lethal second-row partnership with Paul Rose, a partnership that as well as being probably the best in the game, helped promote Rovers into the best team in the land and made Phil Lowe one of the most successful British forwards of that time. In 1978/79 Phil helped Rovers to the First Division Championship finishing 8 points clear of the nearest team, his excellent form during the season looked certain to earn him a place on the 1979 Tour 'Down Under', Phil ended all speculation by advising selectors he was not available.
Phil started the 1979/80 season on the injured list and it wasn't until October that he made his first appearance, then at the end of January he shocked the club with a transfer request. Very reluctantly Rovers listed him at £30,000 but a few days later he changed his mind and came off the list as the quest for a Challenge Cup medal began. Phil's second appearance at Wembley saw his side win the Challenge Cup for the first time in their history in that never-to-be-forgotten 10-5 victory over Hull.
Phil missed most of the 1980/81 campaign due to a shoulder injury which necessitated an operation and a lengthy lay-off but he returned in time to make an appearance in the Challenge Cup and Premiership Trophy finals that year. During his second spell with the club Phil appeared in seven major finals picking up winners medals in the Challenge Cup, Premiership Trophy and BBC2 Floodlit Trophy as well as a First Division Championship winners medal.
One of Phil's most memorable matches for Rovers was the local derby played at the Boulevard on Good Friday, 17th April 1981, in front of 18,500 spectators, the same year that Phil Lowe celebrated his testimonial with the club. Phil won the match for Rovers three minutes from time after he scored his second try of the match, after he followed up his own kick through (the 'kick through' being a technique Phil rarely used) to score. The final score was 17-16 in favour of Rovers.
After retiring from the professional game in 1983, Phil immediately took up the position of first team coach at York and almost produced a spectacular finale to his first season. The Second Division club climaxed a remarkable run by losing to Wigan in the Challenge Cup semi-final.
Phil is now a well-known publican and has four establishments in Hull: The Quayside, The King Billy, The Bosun (ex-Empress Hotel) and The Plimsoll Ship. Phil still has an active running of the club being a Director and the Chairman of the Football Committee and has previously had a spell as the Club Chairman. He is currently the Great Britain Lions Team Manager, a position he has held for the last three years.

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