William James "Billy" Mitchell (1890–1959) was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 rugby football

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

er who represented his country in both rugby union and rugby league

New Zealand national rugby league team

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...

.

Early years

Mitchell was born in Melbourne, Australia before moving to New Zealand where he worked for the New Zealand Railways Department

New Zealand Railways Department

The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...

.

Rugby union career

Mitchell played rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 for the Merivale club in Christchurch and represented the province nine times in 1909 and 1910. He was selected to be part of the All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

 tour of Australia in 1910 and played in five matches, including the second and third Test matches.

Rugby league career

In 1911 Mitchell, along with three other players from the Merivale club, moved to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. He was then enticed north by the Queensland Rugby League

Queensland Rugby League

The Queensland Rugby Football League is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League and selects the members of Queensland State of Origin teams....

. At the same time the New Zealand rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 side was touring Australia and he was invited to join the touring party. Mitchell played in four matches, becoming a dual-code rugby international.

Mitchell then returned to Christchurch and represented Canterbury in its first ever match in 1912. Mitchell toured Australia twice more with New Zealand, in 1913 and as captain in 1919. He played in his final match for New Zealand in 1920. He played for the St Albans and Federal clubs in the Canterbury Rugby League

Canterbury Rugby League

Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby league team which represents the region in New Zealand...

 competition.

Later years

Mitchell later served as a coach of the Canterbury side and a national selector.