Willie Bishop is a New Zealand 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 played for the Australian rugby union sevens team.

Playing career

Bishop initially played touch rugby

Touch rugby

Touch rugby, Refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle in the traditional, highly physical way, but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball....

 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...

 and in 2000 he won the New Zealand Junior Sportsperson of the Year and New Zealand Maori Sportsperson of the Year awards. In 2002, while playing for the Hibiscus Coast Raiders

Hibiscus Coast Raiders

The Hibiscus Coast Raiders are a rugby league club based on the Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand. They compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition and between 2000 and 2005 were also involved in the Bartercard Cup competition.-History:...

, won the Auckland Rugby League

Auckland Rugby League

The Auckland Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region and was the owner of Carlaw Park, once the "spiritual home of rugby league in New Zealand".-History:The Auckland Rugby League was...

's Best and Fairest award.

In 2003 he played for the New Zealand Warriors

New Zealand Warriors

The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...

 at the Rugby League World Sevens

Rugby League World Sevens

The Rugby League World Sevens, usually referred to as the World Sevens and sometimes as the World Cup Sevens, were a pre-season rugby league sevens tournament made up over the years primarily of New South Wales Rugby League , Australian Rugby League and mostly recently National Rugby League ...

 where he was subsequently signed by the Sydney Roosters

Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...

. He again played in the 2004 World Sevens for the Roosters.

In 2006 he signed with the Manly Sea Eagles, playing six matches in the NSWRL Premier League

NSWRL Premier League

The New South Wales Cup is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales previously known as the NSWRL Premier League. It has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve grade competition. It is now the premier open age competition in the state...

 and also playing for the Belrose Eagles in the 2007 Jim Beam Cup.

Bishop then switched to 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...

, joining the Warringah Rugby Club

Warringah Rugby Club

Warringah Rugby Club is a rugby union club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales. Only located 25 km from the city centre, the club is close to many magnificent beaches, the Sydney Academy of Sport and Narrabeen Lake. The club currently competes in the New South Wales Rugby...

. In 2008 he was spotted playing rugby union sevens for the club and called into the Australian team. He again played for Australia in 2009.

Personal life

His father Matt played rugby union for New Zealand Maori and his brother Raymond played for Waikato in the NPC.