William Dowell

William "Billy" Dowell

Dowell in Newport jersey
Full 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
Occupation(s)	miner
Rugby league career
Position(s) Back Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1908 Warrington RLFC () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1908 Wales 1 (0)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) ?-1905 1905-08 1908 Pontnewydd RFC Newport RFC Pontypool RFC () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1907-08 Wales 7 (0)

William "Billy" 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 and Pontypool and rugby league with Warrington RLFC (Heritage № 151). He won seven caps for the Wales rugby union team and after switching to league, played one match for the Wales league squad.

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.