William Dowell was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 international, dual-code rugby player who 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 Newport and Pontypool

Pontypool

Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....

 and 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...

 with Warrington RLFC

Warrington Wolves

Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....

. He won seven caps for the Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 rugby union team and after switching to league, played one match for the Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 league squad.

Rugby career

Dowell first played for Newport in 1905 and was part of the team that faced two touring sides; the 1905 Original All Blacks and the 1906 South Africans.

Dowell was first capped for Wales on 12 January 1907 when he played against England at St Helens

St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground

St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground is a spectator venue in Swansea, Wales. It is used for both rugby and cricket.It is owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea council and is also used to host the local annual Guy Fawkes night fireworks display.-History:Since the ground opened in...

 under the captaincy of Dicky Owen

Dicky Owen

Dicky Owen was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFC Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1912, a record that was unbeaten until 1955 when Ken Jones surpassed him.-Influence in rugby:Born Richard Morgan...

. It was a good victory for Wales, winning 22-0 and Dowell was back the very next two matches of the 1907 Home Nations Championship

1907 Home Nations Championship

The 1907 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-fifth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 12 January and 16 March...

. Dowell was also part of the Wales Triple Crown

Triple Crown (Rugby Union)

In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...

 winning team when he played in all three games of the 1908 Championship

1908 Home Nations Championship

The 1908 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 18 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....

, including a winning match against France in the same year. His final four union international games were with Pontypool after he left Newport in 1908. Dowell may have been selected the next season but 'Went North', joining rugby league team Warrington and therefore making himself ineligible to play further union games. He later played one league international for Wales making him a dual code international.

International matches played

Wales (union) 1907, 1908 1908 1907, 1908 1907, 1908

Wales (league) 1908