Tristan Blewett

Tristan James Blewett (born 26 August 1996) is a South African rugby union player for the New Orleans Gold in Major League Rugby in the United States.[1] His regular position is centre, but he can also play as a winger or fullback.

Tristan Blewett
Full nameTristan James Blewett
Date of birth (1996-08-26) 26 August 1996
Place of birthJohannesburg, South Africa
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Weight89 kg (14 st 0 lb; 196 lb)
SchoolHilton College, KwaZulu-Natal
UniversityUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre / Winger / Fullback
Current team New Orleans Gold
Youth career
2012–2017 Sharks
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016 UKZN Impi 8 (35)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2018 Sharks XV 13 (30)
2017 Sharks (Currie Cup) 6 (0)
2018 Eastern Province Kings 1 (5)
2018 Southern Kings 2 (0)
2018–present New Orleans Gold 0 (0)
Correct as of 27 October 2018

Early life and schoolboy rugby

Blewett was born in Johannesburg, but grew up in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. He attended Hilton College, where he was included in various KwaZulu-Natal provincial teams. In 2012, he represented them at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in Johannesburg,[2] starting all three matches in the inside centre position.[3] He also started all three matches for a KwaZulu-Natal team that hosted the 2013 Under-18 Academy Week at Glenwood High School in Durban,[4] and at the Under-18 Craven Week – South Africa's premier rugby union tournament at high school level – held in Middelburg in 2014.[5]

2015–2018: Sharks

After school, Blewett joined the academy of KwaZulu-Natal's professional rugby team, the Sharks. He was included in the Sharks U19 squad that participated in the 2015 Under-19 Provincial Championship,[6] and started each of their twelve matches in the competition. He scored tries in matches against Free State U19,[7] Eastern Province U19[8] and Golden Lions U19 – in both their home[9] and away[10] clashes – before ending the season with two tries in their final match against Free State U19.[11] Despite Blewett's six tries (and a single conversion for a season tally of 32 points),[12] the Sharks endured a poor season, winning just one match and finishing bottom of the log.[13]

Blewett started the 2016 by participating in the 2016 Varsity Shield for UKZN Impi. He featured in all eight of their matches, scoring seven tries; he scored one try in their opening round victory over Wits[14] and one a fortnight later against UFH Blues[15] before getting two tries in a 63–30 win over TUT Vikings in his fourth appearance.[16] One try followed in a 16–44 defeat to UWC[17] before another two-try haul in their 97–0 win over the UFH Blues.[18] Blewett's total of seven tries was the second-most by any player in the competition, behind team-mate Thobekani Buthelezi,[19] and helped UKZN Impi to second spot on the log.[20] However, the Varsity Cup Executive Committee ruled that UKZN Impi fielded an ineligible player throughout the season and imposed a twelve points deduction, which cost UKZN Impi a place in the Varsity Shield final and a Varsity Cup promotion play-off against UCT Ikey Tigers.[21]

After the Varsity Shield, Blewett linked up with the Sharks XV squad that participated in the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series.[22] He made his first class debut on 23 April 2016, coming on as a replacement in their 48–18 victory over Namibian side the Welwitschias,[23] and made a second appearance four weeks later in a 16–53 defeat to a Golden Lions XV.[24] He spent the rest of the season playing in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship for the Sharks U21 team, where he scored six tries in six appearances to end as the joint-top try scorer in the competition.[25] He scored single tries in matches against Eastern Province U21[26] and Leopards U21[27] before scoring two tries against Blue Bulls U21[28] and Free State U21.[29] The team finished in sixth spot to miss out on the title play-offs.[30]

At the end of October 2016, Blewett was included in the Sharks Super Rugby squad for the 2017 season.[31]

2018: Southern Kings

In September 2018, Blewett moved to Port Elizabeth to join the Southern Kings for a short stint during the 2018–19 Pro14 season,[32] where he made two appearances, plus one appearance for the Eastern Province Elephants in the Currie Cup.

2018–present: New Orleans Gold

Blewett moved to the United States to join Major League Rugby side New Orleans Gold on a two-year deal.[33]

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Tristan Blewett". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  2. "KZN Rugby". Hilton College. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Squad – KZN : 2012 U16 Grant Khomo Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Squad – KwaZulu Natal : 2013 U18 Academy Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Squad – KwaZulu-Natal : 2014 U18 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Squad – Sharks U19 : 2015 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U19 17-17 Free State U19". South African Rugby Union. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  8. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U19 24-34 Eastern Province U19". South African Rugby Union. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U19 18-36 Golden Lions U19". South African Rugby Union. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  10. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Golden Lions U19 28-22 Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  11. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Free State U19 41-30 Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  12. "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2015 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  13. "SA Rugby Log – 2015 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UKZN 26-18 FNB WITS". South African Rugby Union. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UKZN 58-10 FNB UFH". South African Rugby Union. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  16. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB TUT 30-63 FNB UKZN". South African Rugby Union. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  17. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UKZN 16-44 FNB UWC". South African Rugby Union. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – FNB UFH 0-97 FNB UKZN". South African Rugby Union. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  19. "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2016 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  20. "SA Rugby Log – 2016 FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  21. "FNB UKZN docked points in the Varsity Shield" (Press release). Varsity Cup. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  22. "SA Rugby Squad – Cell C Sharks XV : 2016 Currie Cup Qualifying". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  23. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Cell C Sharks XV 48-18 Windhoek Draught Welwitschias". South African Rugby Union. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  24. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Cell C Sharks XV 16-53 Xerox Golden Lions XV". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  25. "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2016 SA Rugby U21 Provincial Champs". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  26. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U21 21-23 EP U21". South African Rugby Union. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  27. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards U21 33-38 Sharks U21". South African Rugby Union. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  28. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U21 23-21 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  29. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Sharks U21 18-24 Free State U21". South African Rugby Union. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  30. "SA Rugby Log – 2016 SA Rugby U21 Provincial Champs". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  31. "Pre-season training squad announcement" (Press release). Sharks. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  32. "Hommeltuig help Kings nou slyp". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 13 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  33. "NOLA sign South African center Tristan Blewett". Americas Rugby News. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
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