In rugby league, he has had coaching roles with Salford, Warrington Wolves, Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain. In rugby union, he has coached Leeds/Yorkshire Carnegie, Ealing Trailfinders and West Park Leeds.
Club career
Lowes began his career at Hunslet, joining from junior club Hunslet Parkside in October 1986.[3] He was signed by Leeds in 1992 for an initial transfer fee of £30,000.[4] Lowes had usually played as a stand-off or scrum-half during his early career, but was converted into a hooker when he joined Leeds.[4]
Lowes began a coaching career following his retirement as a player, joining Salford City Reds as an assistant coach in 2004. Whilst on the coaching staff at Salford he made one appearance in a friendly match against Swinton, scoring a try.
Lowes later moved to Warrington Wolves as an assistant coach, and was named head coach following the departure of Paul Cullen in the 2008 season.[2] After a disappointing opening to the 2009 season Lowes left the club and was replaced by Tony Smith. He later joined Leeds Rhinos as an assistant to Brian McDermott.
In June 2014 Lowes was named head coach at Bradford Bulls. After the disappointment and shock of being relegated after Super League XIX after being one of the most successful Super League teams, Lowes led his team to one game away from returning to the Super League in 2016. They needed to win a 'Million Pound Game' and final qualifier against Wakefield, but suffered a 24-16 defeat which meant Bradford remained in the Championship for the 2016 season. Lowes after the match said he was tempted to quit rugby league.[5]
In August 2015, Lowes became assistant coach of the England national team, becoming Steve McNamara's assistant.[6] Lowes helped England defeat New Zealand 2-1 in a three-test series in 2015. He then later left to take up teaching 14-19 year olds.[citation needed]
In July 2018 he returned to Leeds Rhinos as first team coach, after the departure of Brian McDermott. He became an assistant coach when David Furner took over in September 2018. He left the club in April 2019.
In 2025 he joined Halifax Panthers, where he is a senior performance coach.
Rugby union
After retiring from playing rugby league, Lowes played amateur rugby union for West Park Leeds.
In 2013 he was named head coach at rugby union club Leeds Carnegie, partner club of Leeds Rhinos. He left in June 2014 to join Bradford Bulls. He returned to the club, then renamed Yorkshire Carnegie, in 2016, initially as assistant to Bryan Redpath, before becoming head coach in 2017. He left in June 2018.
From 2019, Lowes spent two seasons with Ealing Trailfinders as a skills coach. In 2021 he returned to West Park Leeds as director of rugby.
