He was born on July 10, 1883. His parents were Martha Bell and Francis Rowe. In 1914 he married Hilda Laura Norton. Rowe was a qualified accountant.[3] They had at least two children (Harold Norton Rowe, 1914 and Gladys Ruth Rowe, 1917).
He was selected for the professional All Blacks [4] tour of 1907–1908, in part because of his utility value.[3] Rowe became an invaluable part of the touring team and between 1907 and 1909 he was to play in nine rugby league test matches. In 1908 he played in the first ever trans-Tasman test which was the début match of the Australia national rugby league team. He scored two tries in the second test match against Australia, a game which New Zealand won 11–10 to clinch the series. Rowe finished the tour with ten tries overall, including touring games.[3]
In 1919 Rowe coached the Auckland team to play Australia. They went away for a weeks training prior to meeting the Australian side however it made little difference as they were well beaten.[7]