Former All Blacks hooker and Dancing with the Stars winner Norm Hewitt has handed away. He was 55.
It’s understood he died final night time after a battle with motor neurone illness.
Rising up in Pōrangahau, southern Hawke’s Bay, Hewitt performed 296 consultant matches throughout a memorable first-class rugby profession spanning 13 seasons for Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Wellington. He earned 23 caps for the All Blacks over 9 seasons and was a key member of the Hurricanes within the early years of Tremendous Rugby, lacking only one match within the first 5 years.
After retiring from rugby, Hewitt turned a public speaker and mentor to youth and was closely concerned in violence prevention programmes and advocacy and labored for the SPCA as an animal cruelty and anti-violence publicity officer in colleges.
He was the season-one winner of Dancing with the Stars in 2005 alongside skilled dancer Carol-Ann Hickmore.
Whereas an All Black, Hewitt had a well-known haka standoff with England’s Richard Cockerill in 1997. The pair got here face-to-face in an intense showdown earlier than the match at Previous Trafford in Manchester.
Hewitt later described the incident, which ended with pushing and shoving between the pair, and the English crew standing toe to toe with the All Blacks, as an ingrained a part of “rugby folklore”.
“It was like there have been solely two individuals on that subject,” stated Hewitt. “At one level I believed to myself ‘if I had a patu [club] I might have minimize his head off’ and I used to be going into that place. I don’t know why… it was an enormous recreation and we have been going to battle and he’s my enemy, [a] kill or be killed state of affairs. I likened it to that and yeah, I suppose it’s now a part of that folklore very similar to when the Irish stepped over the road with Buck Shelford.”
Photograph / Allsport
Hewitt performed behind All Blacks skipper Sean Fitzpatrick which supplied few check alternatives in an period the place substitutes have been used sparingly. He performed 9 exams for the All Blacks, the final being in a 40-10 win over England in 1998. Hewitt made his check debut on the 1995 Rugby World Cup, coming off the bench in a well-known 43-19 pool win over Eire which launched Jonah Lomu to the world stage. Hewitt additionally began within the 145-17 thrashing of Japan however didn’t seem within the knockout video games.
Hewitt additionally famously performed on with a damaged arm in Wellington’s NPC ultimate win in 2000 was a key member of Hawke’s Bay’s well-known win over the 1993 touring British and Irish Lions aspect.
Hewitt was additionally credited with publicly confronting an alcohol drawback and serving to others deal with their points.
In 1999 he drunkenly broke into the fallacious Queenstown lodge room. He later broke down in tears at a press convention and apologised.
The lodge incident proved to be a life-changing second, forcing Hewitt to lastly realise how critical his consuming drawback had turn into.
Talking years later at a sport and alcohol convention, Hewitt may poke enjoyable at his public embarrassment.
”Many individuals give you jokes, like ‘Don’t do a Norm’, or ‘Be careful for the window’, or ‘Norm, you possibly can’t have many home windows in your own home’.”However I don’t know the way many individuals have stated: ‘Bud, I’ve been there. However I’d hate to have gone what by means of what you went by means of’.”
Former Magpies teammate Jarrod Cunningham died in 2007, additionally after being identified with motor neurone illness.
His rugby profession was immortalised in The Flight of the Conchords TV present starring Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. Clement revealed simply final month the character Murray Hewitt (performed by Rhys Darby) was named after two rugby icons – Murray Mexted and Norm Hewitt.
