Thomas John Bowe (born 22 February 1984) is an Irish former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player from

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He played on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

and the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. In March 2012, after four years with Ospreys in

Swansea, Wales Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, he returned to Ulster for the 2012/13 season. After his playing career, Bowe has taken up television presenting, and is a host of morning television show ''

Ireland AM ''Ireland AM'' is an Irish morning television show on Virgin Media One. It airs live every weekday from 07:00 to 10:00, and weekends from 9:00 to 12:00. The program features news, current affairs, weather updates, showbiz, fashion, beauty, fo ...

''.

Career

Early career

A former pupil of

The Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

, Bowe was a schoolboy provincial full-back, only converting to

whilst playing for Ireland U-21s. Bowe played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

from U10 level with

Emyvale Emyvale, known before the Plantation of Ulster as Scarnageeragh (), is a village and townland in the north of County Monaghan, Ireland. It is on the main Dublin to Derry and Letterkenny road, the N2, about north of Monaghan and south of ...

, his local GAA club and he also ran for the Glaslough Harriers and represented his local parish Donagh in the All-Ireland Community Games and went to Mosney with the Monaghan Relay team. He represented

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

at U16 and Minor level. As well as playing Gaelic football, he also played rugby with Monaghan RFC at underage levels as well as representing his primary school team. He attended the University of Ulster, Jordanstown and played for the

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

rugby team, earning a selection to the Ireland U20 Team before transferring to

Belfast Harlequins Belfast Harlequins is a multi-sports club located off the Malone Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club name provides the overall umbrella for rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey, and squash. The club is associated on and off the f ...

. He subsequently was capped at U21 level and was named as the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA) 'Young Player of the Year' in 2003.

Club/provincial career

Bowe received a call-up to the

squad at the end of the 2003–04 season, scoring on his debut against

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

and soon made his name as an

regular. He was named

IRUPA The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Si ...

Young Player of the Year in May 2004. He won the Guinness Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year Award at the Ulster Rugby Awards Dinner in May 2005. In 2006 Bowe won his 1st

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

title for Ulster On 25 January 2008 he confirmed that he would leave Ulster at the end of the 2008

season, to join the Ospreys on a two-year deal. In his first season with the Welsh club, he scored a club-record four

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

tries in a match against Treviso, as well as becoming the leading Magners League try-scorer, having scored the most tries in the league's history. In 2008, he won both the Ulster and Ireland Player of the Year awards. In December 2009 it was announced that Bowe had signed a 3-year extension with the Ospreys. He returned to Ulster at the start of the 2012/13 season on a 3-year deal. He scored 2 tries on his return for Ulster against Cardiff Blues and was instrumental in the province's league season, helping them to the Pro12 Final.

International career

Bowe made his senior international debut against the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during the 2004 Autumn Internationals becoming the first player from

to win an

cap since the 1920s, marking his introduction to test rugby with a second half try. Bowe won further caps during Ireland's tour to Japan and their Autumn Internationals in 2005. With that experience and an impressive run of form for Ulster in the

, he made the 22-man panel for Ireland's 2006 Six Nations opener against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and went on to score a try in that game. After Ireland's poor first half against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the following Championship match, Bowe was axed from the squad – prompting allegations of him being made a scapegoat by

boss Eddie O'Sullivan. An injury-plagued latter part of 2006 precipitated a downturn in form, though a rejuvenated Bowe came back with 5 tries in 6 matches to earn his place in Ireland's

2007 Six Nations The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen mat ...

squad. He failed to make the Irish squad for the disappointing

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

. Bowe earned himself a place in Ireland's original 2008 Six Nations squad after a very good season with Ulster. He was overlooked for the Ireland match day squad to play Italy in the tournament's opening game, however, despite his form. He was again excluded from the squad the following week when Ireland were narrowly defeated by

in Paris, however on 19 February 2008 Bowe was named in the starting team at for the visit of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

, a match in which he scored two tries. He then played in the losses to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. On 4 February Bowe came on for

Keith Earls Keith Gerard Earls (born 2 October 1987) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. Internationally, Earls plays for Ireland and represented the British & Irish Lions on their ...

as a replacement in the 2017 Six Nations Championship against

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, ...

. With his good form for the Ospreys continuing in 2008 Bowe retained his right-wing position for

during the Autumn internationals, scoring the team's only try against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Bowe was then selected on the wing for the

2009 Six Nations The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national ...

opener against

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. Bowe impressed as Ireland claimed their first win over France in six years with 30–21 triumph. Their next game was against

. Despite a performance that was below par, Bowe scored a try as Ireland romped to a 38–9 win. After wins against

and

, Ireland took on

with a grand slam at stake. With Ireland trailing 6–0 at halftime they came out firing as

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

scored to put them 7–6 up. Then, from a

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

chip, Bowe gathered and outpaced Ospreys teammate,

Shane Williams Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record tr ...

to score under the posts for a try. Wales came back from 6–14 to go up 15–14 with six minutes remaining, but O'Gara slotted a last gasp drop goal to give Ireland the lead again. Wales had one more chance to snatch the game from Ireland with Jones having a penalty on halfway with the final kick of the ball. But Jones missed by a matter of inches and Ireland claimed a dramatic win and their first grand slam in 61 years. In February 2010 against England in the 2010 Six Nations Championship, he scored two tries including the clinching try with five minutes remaining in a 20–16 win at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. In March 2010, Bowe was voted 2010 Six Nations Player of the Championship, gaining over 50% of the vote. Bowe continued to represent Ireland throughout 2010. He was selected in Ireland's squad for the

2011 Six Nations Championship The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby uni ...

, and scored the opening try of Ireland's demolition of a Grand-Slam chasing England on 19 March. He went to the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, his first such tournament, and scored a try against the US in Ireland's opening Pool C game. He was selected in the squad for the

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was ...

, during which he rediscovered his try-scoring ability. scoring 5 tries in Ireland's first three games, including braces against Italy and France.

British & Irish Lions

On 21 April 2009, Bowe was named as a member of the

for the 2009 tour to South Africa. He started in the first match on the tour, versus a Royal XV and, in this game, became the first try scorer of the 2009 tour. He then scored two tries against the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

which contributed to his selection for the test side. He wasn't included for the next two games before coming back for the match against

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

where he scored his fourth try of the tour and set up another for

Ugo Monye Ugochukwu Chiedozie Monye (born 13 April 1983) is an English sports pundit and former rugby union player, Monye played 14 times for , 241 times for his only club Harlequins and played twice for the British & Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to ...

. His form on the Tour was outstanding, winning him praise from the sporting media. On 18 June 2009,

Ian McGeechan Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE (born 30 October 1946) is a retired Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through hi ...

named Bowe in his test side to face South Africa in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

on 20 June where The Lions lost 26–21 . Bowe, although holding his own in defence, wasn't given any opportunities to run. He was again selected on the wing for the second test. The Lions lost 28–25 due to a last minute penalty by

Morné Steyn Morné Steyn (born 11 July 1984) is a South African rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for the Bulls and played for the South Africa national team, up until his retirement from international test rugby in October 2021. Steyn has won an ...

to clinch the series for the Springboks. Bowe in this game had more opportunities to run and was dangerous in attack. Due to injuries to

and

Jamie Roberts Jamie Huw Roberts (born 8 November 1986) is a former Wales, Welsh rugby union player, who most recently played for the New South Wales Waratahs, Waratahs. His usual position is Rugby union positions#Centre, centre. Beginning in 2005, Roberts ...

, Bowe was selected at outside centre in a partnership with Riki Flutey. He came second behind

for the ''Player of the Series'' award. In April 2013 he was selected as a member of the 2013 British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia. While playing against the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competition ...

, Bowe broke a bone in his hand, which threatened to end his Lions tour. He managed to recover from the injury in time to be included the starting fifteen in the last two tests against Australia, taking the place from

Alex Cuthbert Alex Cuthbert (born 5 April 1990) is a Welsh rugby union player. Born in Gloucester, he plays on the wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. Early life Born in Gloucester, Cuthbert went to Newent Community School. He gained a diplom ...

who had replaced him whilst he was injured, but was unable to score any points in the test series.

International tries

Honours

Individual

Young Player of the Year 2004 *Guinness Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year Award 2005 *Celtic League Team of the Year (3): 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 *IRUPA Players' Player of the Year (2): 2008, 2010 * WRPA Players' Player of the Year Award (1): 2010 * Celtic League Player of the Year (1): 2009-10 Celtic League *RBS Player of the Championship for the 2010 RBS 6 Nations *Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Player of the Year 2010

Ulster

(1): 2005-06

Ospreys

(2): 2009-10, 2011-12

Ireland

* Six Nations (2):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

British & Irish Lions

*British & Irish Lions tours: **Tourist (2):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

**Series Winner (1):

Non-rugby ventures

Bowe was guest chef in episode two of series seven of '' The Restaurant'' in 2010. Bowe appeared on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show'' on 21 May 2010 where he was quizzed on his version of the song "The Black Velvet Band" which he sang during Ireland's Grand Slam celebrations. Bowe was the focus of an

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

documentary ''Tommy Bowe's Bodycheck'', which examined what it takes to be a top professional rugby player. In 2014, Bowe added a clothing line XV kings to his earlier launched footwear brand Lloyd & Pryce. He lent his name to the Tommy Bowe Challenge which was completed in both 2011 and 2012 to raise money for the Glaslough Harriers. In 2017, Bowe dipped his toe into television presenting becoming a co-presenter on BBC and RTE holiday program, Getaways. Then in 2018, Bowe was named as the presenter of

Eir Sport Eir Sport (stylised as eir Sport; formerly Setanta Sports) was a group of Irish television sports channels operated by Eircom Sport Limited, a subsidiary of Eir. In December 2015, Eir purchased original Setanta Sports operations in the Republi ...

's coverage of the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

which started in August 2018. Since August 2020 Bowe has been a host on ''

'', the morning television show of Virgin Media Television in Ireland.

Personal life

His father, Paul, won a Leinster Schools' Cup medal with

Newbridge College , latin_name = , logo = Newbridge College crest.gif , logo_size = 140px , seal_image = , image = Newbridge College.jpg , image_size = 270px , alt = Newbridge College and the R ...

on the 1970 team, captained by

Mick Quinn Mick Quinn (born 17 December 1969) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as founding member of English rock band Supergrass. He is a permanent member of fellow Oxford band Swervedriver. Career 1984–1993 Mick Quinn s ...

and went on to win a cap for Leinster Schools. Ann, his mother, is a physiotherapist in County Monaghan who runs her own practice. Bowe's sister, Hannah, is an Ireland hockey international, and his younger brother, David, is a rugby union footballer. The Bowe siblings' grandfather was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for war service with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

at the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

Landings in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Bowe married his fiancée, former

Miss Wales Miss Wales is a national beauty pageant in Wales. Rules Miss Wales is open to unmarried women from age 16 to age 24, and is organized by Vibe Models. Contestants must not have had children, must be British citizens and must reside in Wales. ...

Lucy Whitehouse, on 14 June 2015 at the Corran Resort and Spa in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales. They have two children together.

References

External links

* * *
Lions Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowe, Tommy 1984 births Living people Belfast Harlequins rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Gaelic footballers who switched code Monaghan Gaelic footballers Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players People educated at The Royal School, Armagh Queen's University RFC players Rugby union wings Ulster Rugby players Ospreys (rugby union) players Rugby union players from County Monaghan Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Virgin Media Television (Ireland) presenters Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London