Norman Jason Hewitt (11 November 1968 – 16 July 2024) was a New Zealand

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 played as a hooker. He won nine caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Hewitt participated in, and won, season one of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' in 2005.

Rugby career

Although in

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

squads from 1993 until 1999, Hewitt’s appearances were limited by the presence of

Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 4 June 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played for the dominant Auckland team in the late 1980s and 1990s, and won the first two Super 12 titles with the Auckland Blues in 1996 and 1997. ...

and later selectors also preferring

Anton Oliver Anton David Oliver (born 9 September 1975) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Previously, he played as a hooker for Marlborough (one of the predecessors to today's Tasman side) and Otago in the National Provincial Championship and A ...

and

Mark Hammett Mark Garry 'Hammer' Hammett (born 13 July 1972) is a New Zealand rugby union coach (sport), coach and former player. Having represented Canterbury Rugby Football Union, Canterbury provincially 76 times, and the Crusaders (rugby union), Crusaders ...

. He played 9 test matches (4 as a substitute) and 14 other matches for the New Zealand national team. Hewitt played nearly 300 first class rugby matches. This included 15 for New Zealand Māori, 66

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 ...

and 143

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 ...

(NPC) matches. He captained New Zealand A and New Zealand Maori, the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

, Hawke’s Bay and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. Career highlights include: * Hawke’s Bay's defeats of the

1993 British Lions In 1993 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. This was the last Lions tour in the sport's amateur era. The Lions were managed by Geoff Cooke, coached by Ian McGeechan and Dick Best, and captained by Gavin Hastings. The Lio ...

(29–17) and the 1994 French tourists (30–25). * being named the 1996 NPC Second Division Player of the Year. * missing just one match in the first five years of

Super 12 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 ...

. * scoring seven tries for the

, although none in test matches. * never losing in a test match, he played in eight All Black test wins and a draw against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. * captaining

to the NPC title against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in 2000, playing the majority of the final with a broken wrist. At club level he represented Napier Tech Old Boys, Taradale, Albion and Wellington.

Personal life

Hewitt was born in Hawke’s Bay, where he was also raised. Of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent, he identified with

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...

and

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...

. He was married to former world aerobic champion Arlene Thomas, who teaches group fitness at Jenkins Gym in

. Hewitt made a public apology after a drunken incident in 1998, and thereafter became an outspoken advocate of changing drinking habits. Hewitt and professional dancer Carol-Ann Hickmore won the first series of ''Dancing with the Stars'' (New Zealand) on 19 June 2005. He donated his winnings to literacy charity

Duffy Books in Homes Duffy Books in Homes is the trading name of The Alan Duff Charitable Foundation. It is a New Zealand registered, literacy-focused charitable organization which has links to similar organisations in the United States and Australia. History The p ...

, and was associated with Rangikura School, a primary school in

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

. In 2006 Hewitt's brother Rob, a Navy diver, was rescued after surviving four days and three nights floating in the sea off the coast of Porirua. In 2018, Hewitt was featured in the documentary ''Making Good Men'', which highlights the relationship between Hewitt and former schoolmate

Manu Bennett Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is an Australian-New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series ''Spartacus'', Allanon in ''The Shannara Chronicles'', Sl ...

. Hewitt died in Wellington from motor neurone disease on 16 July 2024, at the age of 55.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Norm 1968 births 2024 deaths Dancing with the Stars (New Zealand TV series) winners New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Māori All Blacks players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Southland rugby union players Wellington rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Hastings, New Zealand Ngāti Tūwharetoa people Ngāti Kahungunu people Rugby union hookers 1995 Rugby World Cup players Deaths from motor neuron disease in New Zealand