Ashton Hewitt (born 20 November 1994) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

for the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

regional team, having previously played for

Cross Keys RFC Cross Keys RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pont-y-Cymer) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History The club achieved first c ...

and

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...

. He is a Wales under-20 international. Hewitt made his Dragons debut in an LV Cup match against the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

on 8 November 2013. Hewitt is executive chairman of the

Welsh Rugby Players Association '' The Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA), is a trade union representing athletes who currently play or who have played rugby union in Wales at a professional level. Founded in 2003, the WRPA aims to Represent, Develop, Promote and Protect al ...

. He is outspoken against racism, supporting racial justice and also advocates for

Welsh independence Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...

International

He was named in the

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

squad for the uncapped international versus the Barbarians on 30 November 2019.

Personal life

Hewitt was born and raised in Newport to a British-Jamaican father and a white mother, and started playing rugby at Harriers RFC. As well as pursuing a career in professional sport, he holds a degree in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Youth Justice from the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wal ...

. Following the mass support of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

movement in the US and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, he has openly supported racial justice and has spoken out about racist abuse he has received. He has also called the rugby authorities to have a stronger stance against racial discrimination, particularly after Argentina's captain Pablo Matera was suspended due to racist tweets. Hewitt supports

and has said that "there's more reasons to be yes than no".

References

External links

Dragons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Ashton People educated at Caerleon Comprehensive School Rugby union players from Newport, Wales Welsh rugby union players Dragons RFC players Living people 1994 births Cross Keys RFC players Newport RFC players Rugby union wings