Tristan Blewett


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

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, 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, 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 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 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 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 squad for the 2017 season.

2018: Southern Kings

In September 2018, Blewett moved to Port Elizabeth to join the for a short stint during the 2018–19 Pro14 season, where he made two appearances, plus one appearance for the 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.