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Benetton's touching gesture for Nasi Manu
By Online Editors
Nasi Manu's Benetton teammates have displayed their support for the inspirational number eight as he battles testicular cancer.
News of Manu's diagnosis came in October when he shared an update on social media alerting men to self-check.
The 30-year-old had an operation at a Treviso hospital in August to remove a growth, and is currently going through chemotherapy sessions.
Benetton posted a video on social media showing the players shaving their heads in support of Manu.
"In every rugby locker room before a match, we talk about friendship, family and support. This gesture is not to let these be just rhetoric, but to show you that we are with you Nasi Manu," the club shared in a social media post.
Manu said the gesture brought him to tears.
"Thanks to all of you for the support. When I saw the video I cried, you're just incredible! Give me the strength to continue on this difficult road. I love you."
Teammate Alberto De Marchi said the team finally had the chance to
"The idea came to us spontaneously," De Marchi explained to Corierre.
"When we heard about Nasi's disease, we knew there would be times when the chemo was particularly hard to deal with, and so we decided we would all cut off our hair to let him know that we are rooting for him.
"We had planned to shave off our hair straight away. But then, unfortunately, the team was divided - some had international commitments, and others were in South Africa for the matches against Cheetahs and Kings. The distance made it difficult to coordinate everything, so we decided to postpone things until we got back, and that’s what happened."
The 30-year-old won two Super Rugby titles during his time with the Crusaders and Highlanders.
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I’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
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