Leinster will chase back-to-back United Rugby Championship titles at Croke Park on Friday night knowing the occasion carries a charge beyond the silverware: it is James Lowe's farewell in blue.
Lowe, who leaves to join Tokyo Sungoliath as a replacement for the departing Cheslin Kolbe, bows out as Leinster's all-time record try-scorer, having crossed 71 times in 101 appearances since arriving from New Zealand a decade ago. Leo Cullen has named the wing to start against a Bulls side chasing its first URC crown.
Tadhg Furlong returns to the front row and there was a double injury boost late in the week, with captain Caelan Doris (knee) and hooker Dan Sheehan both passed fit; Sheehan takes a place among the replacements. Lowe lines up on one wing with Tommy O'Brien on the other and Hugo Keenan at full-back, Sam Prendergast at fly-half and Jamison Gibson-Park at scrum-half, while Jamie Osborne partners All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane in midfield.
Leinster legend Isa Nacewa, a former teammate, believes Lowe's exit will sharpen his old club. "There's more than the match on the line," Nacewa said in a URC round table. "Tommy O'Brien has spoken in the last week about the players that are leaving Leinster. James, in particular, and the influence he has had. Playing at Croke Park on a Friday night is special."
"There's always that extra fire in the belly when there's someone as important to the club as James when he's leaving [...] but it's about containing all that emotion. James won't want to make a big deal of it," he added.
Nacewa admitted the move had surprised him. "It's interesting that he doesn't get a contract but becomes the all-time leading try-scorer for Leinster in the last game," he said. "He's been absolutely superb since he landed, and we picked him up from the airport in Dublin 10 seasons ago now."
The Bulls arrive carrying a curse of their own. Johann Ackermann's side, in their fourth final in five years, have lost their last three URC deciders — to the Stormers in 2022, Glasgow Warriors in 2024 and Leinster in 2025. Springboks great Victor Matfield, who tasted Croke Park's hostility in a 15-10 defeat with South Africa in 2009, expects another cauldron at the 82,000-seat venue.
"It feels like, for me, Croke Park brings that out of the locals. It feels like you go into their den," Matfield said. "The Bulls need to go into that lion's den and go and try and slay that lion. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be a great experience."
Matfield argued the change of coach could lift the weight of those past defeats. "When you get new coaches, a new environment, a new way of thinking, then it doesn't have that big influence," he said, suggesting the side could shed the "stick mark" of "you can't win a final."
Kick-off at Croke Park is at 7.30pm.
