Date: 5/11/14
So we have hit the final round of the 2014 Rugby League Four Nations. On Saturday in Dunedin a 2013 RLWC semi-final replay will take place. If you missed it, the 2013 RLWC semi-final match between England and New Zealand was one of the best international match of the World Cup and some would say for many decades. So come this Saturday in the land of the long white cloud we will be expecting nothing less from this encounter.
Over the ditch on Sunday afternoon in Wollongong a match of the upmost importance will be taking place. This match could change the course of international rugby league forever. Toa Samoa will be taking on current World Champions Australia.
Why could this match change the course of international rugby league?
If Toa Samoa win it will trigger an international rugby league chain reaction that will be hard to stop.
A win will mean that Australia’s dominance over the international rugby league landscape will truly be over. The Kangaroos will also be knocked out of the tournament meaning they will miss out on their first major international final since the 1954 Rugby League World Cup.
A Samoan win will show that no longer can rugby league be ignored in the Pacific Nations. The likes of the Australian Rugby League which seem to have a strangle hold on the international game will no longer be able to hold it back. If Samoa win all of a sudden the State of Origin isn’t the pinnacle of rugby league. How could it be when the players from the best teams in the world like Samoa, England and Samoa can’t play.
On Sunday afternoon Toa Samoa are not only playing for the people of Samoa. They are playing for every rugby league nation in the Pacific, Americas, Middle East and Europe. They are playing for the advancement of every rugby league playing nation in the world. A win will finally hammer home the potential of international rugby league as another avenue to take rugby league forward like it has never been taken forward before.
