William Dowell

This article is about the Welsh rugby footballer. For the British admiral, see William Dowell (Royal Navy officer). For the Australian politician from Britain, see William Dowel.

William Dowell

Dowell in Newport jersey
Birth name	William Henry Dowell
Date of birth	(1885-05-21)21 May 1885
Place of birth	Pontypool, Monmouthshire
Date of death	9 November 1949(1949-11-09) (aged 64)
Place of death	Newport, Monmouthshire
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Pontnewydd RFC () 1905-08 Newport RFC () 1908 Pontypool RFC () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1907-08 Wales 7 (0)
Rugby league career
Playing information
Position	Back
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908 Warrington RLFC 22 0 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908 Wales 1 0

William Dowell (21 May 1885 – 9 November 1949) was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer who played rugby union for Newport, Pontypool, rugby league and Warrington RLFC. He won seven caps for the Wales rugby union team and after switching to league, played one match for the Wales 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 under the captaincy of Dicky Owen. 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. Dowell was also part of the Wales Triple Crown winning team when he played in all three games of the 1908 Championship, 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.

Dowell played at prop in Warrington's 10-3 victory over Australia in the 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain tour match during the 1908–09 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington, on the 14th November 1908. He did this in front of a crowd of 5,000; however, due to the strikes in the cotton mills, the attendance was badly affected, the loss of earnings meant that some fans could not afford to watch the first tour by the Australian rugby league team.

International matches played

Wales (union)

• England 1907, 1908
• France 1908
• Ireland 1907, 1908
• Scotland 1907, 1908

Wales (league)

• England 1908

Bibliography

• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.