‘Fiji’ players take to field to help Mia

IT may have been wet but that did not stop fundraisers scrummaging down to help a little girl battling cancer.

And five-year-old Mia Chambers, below, was in the stands to cheer on local lads as they took on ex-Fijian internationals in Merthyr Tydfil.

Thanks to match organiser Ryan Evans, from Merthyr, and the railway infrastructure company he works for, Alstom, proceeds from the tickets will go to a fund to pay for a clinical trial in America and any further support the five-year-old needs.

The Fijian team featured two England under-20s players, an ex-Bath player and Emori Katalau, who played for Fiji in two world cups.

Ryan thanked MPI and Coyle Rail for their assistance.

At the end of the match – which raised more than £2,000 and was won by Fiji – the Fijian players performed the haka and sang.

A fundraising drive for Mia has already topped £170,000 thanks, to a number of events. Shops, businesses, cars, and homes in Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding area have been decorated with bows of coloured ribbon to show their support.

Mia’s parents have appealed for donations so they can send her to America for a clinical trial to avoid a relapse.

She first became unwell in early 2016 and a lump was eventually discovered in her stomach.

After she underwent some tests, parents Kirsty Mahoney and Josh Chambers were horrified to learn the mass was cancerous.

At Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff further tests confirmed the lump was stage four high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare cancer.

Since diagnosis, Mia has been through a multitude of aggressive treatments including intensive chemotherapy, surgery, a stem cell transplant and radiotherapy.