Born: September 6, 1889 – Thames
Died: February 7, 1954 – Auckland
Test record: 6 Tests (1919, 1924) – 0 points
Tours: 1925 tour of Australia

Regarded as one of the finest hookers of the pre-WWII era, Ponsonby stalwart Sam Lowrie played three Tests against Australia in 1919 and three Tests against England in 1924.

Lowrie first played for Ponsonby in 1914 and was selected in New Zealand’s first line-up in five years when Australia came to visit in 1919. He featured in the first three Tests before missing the fourth.

Touring Australia with the 1922 New Zealand Māori team – and scoring a try in a win over Queensland – Lowrie also had the distinction of playing for an Australasia combination alongside three Māori teammates against the Kangaroos, who boasted the likes of Duncan Thompson, Harold Horder, Frank Burge and Charles ‘Chook’ Fraser.

Lowrie returned to the New Zealand team for the 1924 series triumph over England on home soil. He toured Australia again with New Zealand in 1925 – no Tests were played but Lowrie appeared in eight of the 12 matches, including two wins over NSW.

A broken jaw ended Lowrie’s 14-season tenure with Ponsonby in 1927.

Grandnephew Jason Lowrie played 17 Tests from 1993-2000 as one of New Zealand’s most prominent forwards of the era.