KIWIS TO WEAR SPECIAL JERSEY IN HISTORIC TEST TONIGHT
Both Anzac Day and the Christchurch earthquake disaster are
commemorated in the jersey the Kiwis will wear in tonight's Anzac
Test against the Kangaroos at Skilled Park in Robina.
Above a poppy embroidered on the left sleeve of each player's
jersey is an inscription reading:
Kia Maumahara Tatou
Christchurch, February 22 2011
The expression 'kia maumahara tatou' means 'let us remember'.
Below the poppy are the words:
Lest We Forget
Anzac Day
April 25th
The sleeve also includes each player's unique Kiwi number.
The 2011 Anzac Test was originally scheduled for AMI Stadium in
Christchurch but the February 22 earthquake forced officials to
move the match while at the same time making a commitment to bring
the 2012 Anzac Test to the South Island city.
It was decided to create history this time by taking a New
Zealand-Australia international to the Gold Coast for the first
time.
In a special initiative involving a number of rugby league
organisations and sponsors, the crowd tonight will include 250
people who suffered in the earthquake disaster and another 250 who
experienced the horror of Queensland's floods earlier this
year.
The Christchurch contingent numbers 160 people from the rugby
league community who were severely affected plus 90 emergency
services workers. They arrived on the Gold Coast yesterday and
today with former Kiwi captain Nathan Cayless and 2007 Kiwi Chase
Stanley among the passengers. Along with other NRL players,
including injured Kiwi winger Sam Perrett, Cayless and Stanley
spent time in Christchurch earlier this week.
The group warmed up for the Test with a special lunch at the
Northcliffe Surf Life Saving Club in Surfers Paradise today and
will visit Sea World tomorrow. On Sunday, they'll all be at Skilled
Park again to watch the Vodafone Warriors take on Gold Coast in
their ninth-round NRL match.
Before kick-off 140 emergency services and defence personnel
involved in the disasters in Christchurch and Queensland will unite
in a lap of honour in front of a sold out Skilled Park crowd.
On Monday, Vodafone Warriors and Gold Titans players will visit
Ipswich and Goodna as part of the NRL's 'Adopt A Club Programme',
which encourages NRL clubs to partner with flood affected clubs or
regions from across Australia to assist with fundraising
efforts.