Caerphilly Observer
Member Sign in Manage Membership
Become a Member - no ads
Menu
  • News
    • Senedd
    • Business
    • Newport
    • Opinion
  • Sport
    • Rugby union
    • Football
  • Membership & Subscriptions
  • Notices
  • Obituaries
  • About
    • Advertise
  • Sponsored Content
Menu

Wales squad show their support to Matthew Rees

Sport | Richard Gurner | Published: 16:52, Friday November 15th, 2013.

Rhodri Jones, Sam Warburton and Gethin Jenkins packing down showing the special symbol which has been sewn onto the match day shirts in support of Matthew Rees
Rhodri Jones, Sam Warburton and Gethin Jenkins packing down showing the special symbol which has been sewn onto the match day shirts in support of Matthew Rees

The Wales rugby side will show their support for former captain Matthew Rees this weekend by wearing jerseys with a special symbol embroidered onto the sleeve.

The Cardiff Blues hooker is currently facing a spell away from the game as he receives extensive treatment for testicular cancer.

To show their support for Rees, 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 Argentina this weekend.

Universally referred to as ‘Smiler’ the squad have created a purple smiley face to represent his nickname 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 Matthew.

“After the South Africa game 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.

“The idea was a purple smiley face. The purple to represent the testicular cancer charities and the smiley face to represent Matthew as we know him – Smiler.

“For me personally he has been a great support in my career and hopefully in a small way this shows how we feel.”

Fellow front-row forward Gethin Jenkins, who wins his 100th cap for Wales on Saturday, 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.”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Latest News

  • Baby Neil the emu
    Baby Neil the emu draws national spotlight in matchmaking missionFriday, November 21, 2025
  • Cllr Jamie Pritchard, Labour councillor for the Morgan Jones ward
    Council leader to take on residents’ questions in new video seriesFriday, November 21, 2025
  • Ex-Reform leader in Wales jailed for ten-and-a-half years over pro-Russia bribesFriday, November 21, 2025
  • Newbridge Memo
    Newbridge memo gets £200k funding to preserve its heritage for future generationsFriday, November 21, 2025
  • Carl Thomson, UK public policy manager for Airbnb
    Airbnb holds ‘major reservations’ over Welsh tourism billFriday, November 21, 2025
  • An artist’s impression of what the new McDonald’s could look like
    ‘It will be horrendous’: Why villagers are uniting to stop a new McDonald’sThursday, November 20, 2025

Find out how the communities of Caerphilly County Borough get their names

Caerphilly

Legal & Public Notices

  • Caerphilly County Borough Council public noticesThursday, November 13, 2025
  • Caerphilly County Borough Council public noticesThursday, October 30, 2025
  • Notice of application for a premises licence: Ffos CaerffiliThursday, October 23, 2025
  • Notice of application for a variation of a premises licence: Pontygwindy Industrial EstateWednesday, October 22, 2025
© 2009-2024 Caerphilly Media Ltd, Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community Watford Road Caerphilly, CF83 1BJ. Incorporated in Wales No. 07604006.