Tristan James Blewett (born 26 August 1996) was a South African professional rugby union player for the New Orleans Gold in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

in the United States. His regular position is centre, but he can also play as a winger or fullback. Since leaving the states, Tristan’s moved to the University of Surrey. Here he made his first appearance against the Brunel University Ealing Rugby Academy and humbled the team putting 3 tries past them after coming of the bench, stoping their double promotion. He then secured a contract with Worthing RFC after the Covid pandemic however due to a hip flexor injury failed to make an appearance during the session. In the mean time Tristan grew his social status at the University of Surrey, becoming a certified BNOC (Big Name on Campus). He begun his Touch Rugby career making a few appearances for the university team under the great tutelage of Vince Parker, his best friend at Surrey

Early life and schoolboy rugby

Blewett was born in Johannesburg, but grew up in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

. 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, starting all three matches in the inside centre position. 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, and at the Under-18 Craven Week – South Africa's premier rugby union tournament at high school level – held in Middelburg in 2014.

2015–2018: Sharks

After school, Blewett joined the academy of KwaZulu-Natal's professional rugby team, the . He was included in the squad that participated in the 2015 Under-19 Provincial Championship, and started each of their twelve matches in the competition. He scored tries in matches against , and – in both their home and away clashes – before ending the season with two tries in their final match against Free State U19. Despite Blewett's six tries (and a single conversion for a season tally of 32 points), the Sharks endured a poor season, winning just one match and finishing bottom of the log. Blewett started the 2016 by participating in the

2016 Varsity Shield The 2016 Varsity Shield was contested from 1 February to 18 April 2016. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the Varsity Shield, an annual s ...

for . He featured in all eight of their matches, scoring seven tries; he scored one try in their opening round victory over and one a fortnight later against before getting two tries in a 63–30 win over in his fourth appearance. One try followed in a 16–44 defeat to before another two-try haul in their 97–0 win over the UFH Blues. Blewett's total of seven tries was the second-most by any player in the competition, behind team-mate Thobekani Buthelezi, and helped UKZN Impi to second spot on the log. 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 . After the Varsity Shield, Blewett linked up with the squad that participated in the

2016 Currie Cup qualification The 2016 Currie Cup qualification series was a South African rugby union competition organised by the South African Rugby Union which was played between 9 April and 23 July 2016. It featured all fourteen South African provincial unions plus the f ...

series. He made his first class debut on 23 April 2016, coming on as a replacement in their 48–18 victory over Namibian side the , and made a second appearance four weeks later in a 16–53 defeat to a . He spent the rest of the season playing in the

2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship was the 2016 edition of the Under-21 Provincial Championship, an annual national Under-21 rugby union competition held in South Africa, and was contested from 5 August to 22 October 2016. The competition w ...

for the team, where he scored six tries in six appearances to end as the joint-top try scorer in the competition. He scored single tries in matches against and before scoring two tries against and . The team finished in sixth spot to miss out on the title play-offs. At the end of October 2016, Blewett was included in the

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 previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

squad for the 2017 season.

2018: Southern Kings

In September 2018, Blewett moved to

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

to join the for a short stint during the

2018–19 Pro14 The 2018–19 Pro14 (also known as the '' Guinness Pro14'' for sponsorship reasons) is the eighteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the second season to be referred to as the ''Pr ...

season, where he made two appearances, plus one appearance for the in the Currie Cup.

2018–2020: New Orleans Gold

Blewett moved to the United States to join

side New Orleans Gold on a two-year deal.. Blewett returned to South Africa in 2020.

2021: Worthing Raiders

As of 2021, Blewett was playing for

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...

side

Worthing Rugby Football Club Worthing Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system; National League 2 East. The first XV, nicknamed ''The Raiders'', were runners-up to Henley Hawks in the National L ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blewett, Tristan 1996 births Living people Expatriate rugby union players in the United States New Orleans Gold players Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Johannesburg Rugby union wings Sharks (Currie Cup) players South African people of English descent South African expatriate rugby union players South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States Southern Kings players Eastern Province Elephants players Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa)