James Lowe reveals concern over weather conditions at Rugby World Cup ahead of Ireland’s next game against Tonga

JAMES LOWE thinks dropped balls are going to be a big feature of this World Cup as conditions remain hot and sticky.

Ireland had a few handling errors last Saturday in their 82-8 win over Romania and it has been notable in many games.

And head coach Andy Farrell brought it up unprompted over the weekend, claiming that the new World Cup balls have a film on them that has led to some butter-finger moments.

Winger Lowe said there are no excuses but he expects it to remain a factor with Ireland’s next game against Tonga set to be played in high humidity in Nantes.

He said: “If you saw the New Zealand-France game, it was very, very slippy.

“When it gets any sort of dew from the boys’ jerseys and you get the ball on them, you actually drop passes and it’s literally because the ball is so slippery.

“But a couple of dry towels whenever you can and a little bit of sticky spray goes a long way.”

Leinster man Lowe felt Ireland handled the hot mid-afternoon conditions well in Bordeaux on their way to their record victory that, surprisingly, no winger scored in.

He added: “It was annoying because the boys inside me kept scoring, but that’s what happens.

“We managed to rack up a fair few tries and we know, come the end of this round robin, that could prove crucial.

“I think teams are being rewarded for being ambitious but we’re not doing anything too crazy.

“It’s everything we train, it’s not off-the-cuff or we don’t know what we’re doing.”

New Zealand-born Lowe also felt his side improved after half-time following some early nerves at the World Cup. And he acknowledged the huge travelling fanbase has b