Mitchell Thomas William Dunshea (born 18 November 1995) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who currently plays as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

or loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mi ...

and the in the international

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

competition.

Early career

Born in Hamilton, Dunshea moved south to New Zealand's South Island at a young age and attended Lincoln High School just outside Christchurch. He moved on to Lincoln University after graduating from high school where he began studying Sports and Recreation and turned out for their rugby side in the Canterbury local leagues. In 2015, he helped them to win their first Division 1 title since 1981. He also won the national colts title with Canterbury's under-20 side in 2014.

Senior career

Dunshea made his breakthrough in senior rugby playing for Canterbury in the

2015 ITM Cup The 2015 ITM Cup season was the tenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 13, when Southland hosted Auckland. It involved the top fourteen rugby uni ...

where he played 11 times as they lifted the Premiership title with a 25–23 victory over in the final. A foot injury meant that he played no part in Canterbury's

2016 Mitre 10 Cup The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour (National Provincial Championship), North Ha ...

campaign which saw them finish as champions for the 8th time in 9 years.

Super Rugby

An excellent debut season at provincial level for Canterbury saw him make the Crusaders wider training group for the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. A foot injury ruled him out for the entire year, but nonetheless he was promoted to the senior squad for

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

International

Dunshea was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which won the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

in Italy, playing 4 times.

Career honours

New Zealand Under-20 *

World Rugby Under 20 Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an annual international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's juni ...

–

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

''Canterbury *

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

–

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunshea, Mitchell 1995 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union players from Hamilton, New Zealand People educated at Lincoln High School, New Zealand Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni Crusaders (rugby union) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen