In the meantime, he had also been manager of Wales between 1964 and 1974, although the side never did reach the heights it had when he was a player. Wales however did gain a 1–1 draw away to England in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, a result that would prove costly to England. Bowen continued to stay with Northampton, serving as general manager, secretary and finally as a club director before retiring. He also had a sideline in journalism and bookmaking during his managerial career and was a summariser for ITV alongside commentator Hugh Johns for their coverage of the 1966 World Cup final.