THE WALES side will show their support for former captain Matthew Rees this weekend by wearing jerseys with a special symbol embroidered on the sleeve for the clash with Argentina.
The 32-year-old hooker, Wales’ joint most capped hooker with Garin Jenkins, is currently facing a spell away from the game as he receives extensive treatment for testicular cancer.
To show their support for the Cardiff Blues man, who has played 58 times for his country, the squad asked for a personal graphic to be sewn onto each jersey for the game against the Pumas.
Commonly known by his nickname 'Smiler' the squad created a purple smiley face to represent his moniker and chose the colour to show support for testicular cancer charities.
Wales captain Sam Warburton describes how the squad want to show their support for Rees who won three caps on the British and Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa in 2009.
"After the South Africa game (last week) in the post-match function, we spoke as a squad about how to show our support and recognise what Matthew is going through and we felt putting a symbol on the jersey would be a good idea to show we are right behind him,” he said.
"For me personally he has been a great support in my career and hopefully in a small way this shows how we feel.”
Loosehead prop Gethin Jenkins, who wins his 100th cap for Wales, against Argentina added: "Obviously Saturday will be a great day for me and my family personally but equally important is having the symbol on the jersey to show our support for Matthew and the tough times he is going through at the moment. We just want to show that the whole squad is behind him.”
Rees' management company have appealed for any donations to be made to the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff where he is receiving treatment.
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