JASON Lowe has been drawing plenty of admiring glances for his performances for Blackburn Rovers of late.

But the tables have been turned this week and it is Lowe who has been doing the marvelling.

The in-form midfielder took a break from preparing for today’s Championship clash at Brighton & Hove Albion to accept an invitation to watch the Rugby League World Cup encounter between Tonga and the Cook Islands at Leigh Sports Village on Tuesday.

It was invitation that rugby league lover Lowe accepted in an instant.

Growing up in Leigh it was a sport he played until he was a teenager.

Lowe ‘loved every minute of it’ but he was forced to put the oval ball down for the final time at the age of 14 in order to avoid sustaining injury and putting his promising football career at risk.

It is a decision he has not regretted but he has certainly not lost his feeling and appreciation for rugby league.

“I think we all marvel at the athleticism of these guys,” said Lowe.

“You appreciate how hard these lads work and how tough they are. They really put themselves to the limit and the physicality and speed of the sport is just incredible.

“I mean, you look at someone like Leeds Rhinos’ Jamie Peacock and the sacrifices he makes – you’re just in awe as a fellow sportsman.”

The Ewood Park faithful were in awe of Lowe last weekend after his first goal for the club – a 25-yard rocket into the top corner of the net – earned Rovers a vital 1-0 home victory over Middlesbrough.

It was a victory that set them up nicely for today’s trip to a Brighton side who are also on the edge of the play-offs.

Lowe said: “After any win you can say we need to go on a run but it’s easier said than done.

“We just need to make sure we’ve recovered from Saturday, trained well and turn up at Brighton and think that there’s no reason if we play like we can that we can’t get a result.”

If Rovers are to make it back-to-back wins going into the international break then they will have to improve their away record.

Although Gary Bowyer’s men have played well on their travels at times this season they have picked up just six points – one win and three draws – from a possible 21.

Lowe said: “It’s all right putting in good performances but it’s a results business.

“If the performances were poor and we were losing then that’s when we’ve got a problem.

“But we know on the whole we’ve been playing well for the majority of the season and maybe not had the rub of the green at times.

“That happens in football so you just have to dust yourself off and keep going.

“If we can put back-to-back wins together before the break that will put us in good stead and then we can kick on.

“But as I said it’s easier said than done. We’ve just got to make sure we’re at it and there’s no reason why we can’t be.”

Rovers go into today’s game in ninth, four points off the top six.

Lowe, who last month signed a contract extension tying him to the club until 2017, said: “We’re just hovering around there.

“If we’d picked up more points, which I think we deserve, then we’d be well and truly in the mix.

“It’s easy to come back and talk about ifs, buts and maybes. The simple fact is we’ve got to get the results and for whatever reason we haven’t done that.

“We need to do that on a consistent basis and if we play the way we can we know there’s no reason why we can’t do that.”

After rising through the Rovers Academy ranks Lowe is now seen as one of Blackburn’s own.

But he remains proud of his roots and he was delighted that Leigh Sports Village – which is the home for the majority of Rovers’ U21s Premier League matches – was chosen to host a Rugby League World Cup fixture.

He said: “I remember when I was at school and they were first talking about the plans for Leigh Sports Village, so to see them come to fruition is fantastic.”