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'I have had a lot people tell me to stick to rugby and not talk about politics'

Ashton Hewitt of Dragons during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Dragons at RDS Arena in Dublin. (Photo By Tyler Miller/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ashton Hewitt has had plenty of people tell him he should just stick to rugby and not express his opinions on anything else. But the Dragons RFC winger is not about to be silenced.

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Hewitt has come in for some horrendous abuse on social media over his efforts to combat racism and inequality. He admits it shocked him and got him down, but he is determined to keep on doing what he can to try and make a difference.

As part of that commitment, he is backing the United Rugby Championship’s ‘Take on Tomorrow’ programme which aims to use rugby as tool for community impact and social change.

Speaking about what he has been through, Hewitt said: “We had the protests following the murder of George Floyd and the massive collective that brought, bringing everything to the forefront of conversations.

“I started using social media to defend people and express my feelings and my experiences because I felt it was important to get people to understand.

“With that just came a whole heap of abuse that really shocked me. It got me down a lot of the time. My family, my friends, everyone was just in complete shock. It was a huge eye opener for how big an issue racism is.

“We have got a platform where people can just deliver that abuse and racism. It just goes to show how much of a problem it is.

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“The amount I was getting for someone who is really not that famous and popular at all, the number of insults and disgusting things I was getting on social media was such a shock for me.”

Hewitt continued: “I have had a lot people tell me to stick to rugby and not talk about politics or any sort of societal change because that’s not my expertise.

“Apparently, I am trying to stay relevant by speaking about things other than rugby, which is just complete nonsense. Sportspeople are just normal humans with opinions and experiences.

“If you look at the political climate at the moment and how many people are unhappy with everything that’s going on, if nobody spoke about these things then you would just be leaving everyone to carry on doing what they want to do unchecked.”

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The aim of the URC’s ‘Take on Tomorrow’ programme, which Hewitt is supporting, is to inspire change through the power of rugby and provide a platform that recognises the impact players and teams make off the field. It will oversee projects aimed at engaging directly with communities across the territories that make up the cross-border competition.

Speaking as part of the campaign’s Player In Focus series, the Newport born-and-raised Hewitt provided a fascinating insight into his own back story.

“As a kid, I never saw myself as a rugby player. I wasn’t that mould. I was all football, football, football because your favourite player was someone who looked like you. I could relate to them and I aspired to be them,” he revealed.

“I was seeing people who looked like me in the Premier League on a regular basis. When it came to rugby, it’s not a hugely popular sport in the inner city. It’s a lot more in the valley areas that rugby is the main sport and, for me, that was something very obvious growing up.

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“Being a young teenager playing rugby, for a long time I felt different to the rest of the team compared to what I was used to in my inner city environment.

“But I was lucky enough that Aled Brew was playing at the Dragons when I was growing up. I sort of saw myself in him and he was my go-to favourite player. He was my hero as a child.

“I wasn’t really too interested in the national squad because I didn’t see many people who looked like me and I didn’t feel as though I was represented there. But when it came to my local team, I saw that representation and it gave me that little bit of inspiration and ambition.”

Hewitt added: “I grew up in inner city Newport, a pretty deprived area with a load of social issues.

“We need to engage with young people as much as we can, especially those that are often disadvantaged and come from difficult backgrounds and circumstances.

“A lot of young people get told they are one thing and they can accept those sort of stereotypes and fall into that role they are told they should fall into.

“I don’t know many young people coming from where I come from, with the same background as me, who are aspiring to be board members or those sort of things. They sort of fit into the stereotypical roles that are forced upon them or expected of them from a young age.

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“It’s massively important there is visible representation from all areas of society in absolutely every sector.”

Still only 27, he has plenty of seasons of rugby ahead of him, but he is already considering the kind of positive role he can continue to fulfil once he does hang up his boots.

“I just want to make a difference in as many places as possible, helping out where I can in terms of community, diversity, inclusion and equality,” he said.

“I am hoping I will be here, there and everywhere trying to make a difference.”

Credit: URC

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H
Hellhound 20 minutes ago
France put World Cup pain behind them with unbeaten run in November

France is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.


NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.


With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.


That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

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