Andrew Francis Blowers (born 27 March 1975 in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand) is a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player who played for Auckland Blues, Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....

 and Bristol

Bristol Rugby

Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

. He played for the All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

 between 1996 and 1999 in which he had played 11 tests and 7 games. His position is flanker

Flanker (rugby union)

A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...

.

Bristol announced the signing of the former All Black to boost their push for Heineken Cup qualification following the loss of Dan Ward-Smith

Dan Ward-Smith

Dan Ward-Smith was a professional rugby union player who plays at Number Eight for London Wasps. He can also cover Flanker and Second Row, making him a useful forward to have in the Wasps squad.-Career:...

 to injury.

International career

Due to Samoan heritage, he started his international career for Samoa

Samoa national rugby union team

The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...

 with a tour of South Africa. However, not having started a test for the Samoan side, and the then loose international eligibility rules meant that he was available for New Zealand.

Blowers All Black's debut on Tuesday, 6 August 1996 versus Boland Invitation XV at Worcester, scoring on his debut. Four days later he received his first international cap versus South Africa at Cape Town.

After 18 All Black matches he played his final game against Italy on Thursday, 14 October 1999. Of his 11 competitive tests the All Blacks won 10, their only loss coming at the hands of Australia

Australian Rugby Union

The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...

.

Blowers is no longer eligible to play for All Blacks because he no longer plays in New Zealand.

External links

• Andrew Blowers on bristolrugby.co.uk