State of Origin may be the pinnacle of representative rugby league, but international rugby league has once again shown that it definitely has a place in the game.
Australia hosted Samoa at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville on Saturday night and put Samoa to the sword, running away with a 38-12 victory.
The result was established within the first 15 minutes, leading to a 22-0 lead and was never really contested by Samoa.
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But as rugby league powerhouse Australia took on Samoa, the developing superpower that reached the 2022 World Cup final, rugby league was reminded of the power of the international game .
While Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain have traditionally dominated international rugby league, the rise of Polynesian stars who have made Tonga and Samoa competitive has changed that.
So, before the test match kicked off, Lapi Marina performed a wonderful rendition of the Samoan national anthem. Samoa Tula’i the pride in representing their ancestors was evident.
As the anthem began, Cowboys second-rower Luciano Leilua was clearly struggling with his emotions, while cameras also found Dolphins forward Connolly Lemuelu, who had tears streaming down his cheeks.
From there, the Samoan team performed a spine-chilling Sivi Tau war dance.
“Brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” said Andrew Voss in commentary.
“It’s an incredible display of emotion, you saw the tears of Lemuelu and Leilua, and then how quickly we get there and the players are now exhausted.
“It’s a battle cry about fighting to the end and working hard and that’s what they’re going to have to do tonight.”
Fans were blown away by the brilliant scenes.
Rugby league commentator Jason Costigan tweeted: “Hard to understand why @NRL has been so slow to embrace the magic of @IntRL watching scenes like this. »
Another fan commented: “How beautiful to see people cry when they listen and sing their national anthem. I can say this means everything to newbie Connelly Lemuelu.
Another wrote: “I love this so much. Samoa! »
Another posted: “Wow, the Samoan national anthem sung by Lapi Marina was spectacular. »
However, in front of a crowd of 18,144, the Samoans were left in awe as the Kangaroos swept them aside from the start.
Four tries in the opening 15 minutes gave Australia a commanding lead and left Samoa trailing in their wake.
For Samoa it was already going to be a tough task with Storm one-match hopeful Sualauvi Faalogo at full back while World Cup and NSW Origin star Stephen Crichton played out of position at five eighths.
Crichton covers the loss of Jarome Luai, who is still recovering from his shoulder injury suffered at the end of the NRL season and injured again in the NRL grand final.