Bowen was born in Sydney and attended Newington College (1985–1990)[3] He played for the Australia national schoolboy rugby union team in 1990 and the Australian U21s.
[4] Bowen played for Southern Districts Rugby Club from 1991 until 1996 and then moved to Eastern Suburbs in 1997.
He made his international debut for the Wallabies in 1993 v South Africa at the Sydney Football Stadium.
[5] He retired from rugby at the age of 26 and played Australian rules football in the Sydney club competition for 4 years.
He was appointed Eastern Suburbs head coach in 2006 and the club made a Grand Final appearance in 2007.