APIA, SAMOA - JULY 08: Tim Nanai-Williams of Manu Samoa in action during the International Test match between Samoa and the New Zealand All Blacks at Apia Stadium on July 8, 2015 in Apia, Samoa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Samoa have made a statement. Sure it was at home and in possibly the match of their lives against the All Blacks in Apia, but they proved they can mix it with the best in their 25-16 loss.
It was a brutal encounter in which the Samoans brought physicality and passion. They got off the line quickly, throwing themselves into contact to put in some bone-crushing hits.
That same passion, which was not evident in their opponents, rattled the world's best team, as the All Blacks were held to just one try in their first 80 minutes of rugby in 2015.
Put it down to rust, a lack of superstars, or just a bad day if you will, but the All Blacks did not perform anywhere near their usual standard and you have to give Samoa some credit.
Sometimes you can only play as well as the opposition lets you. Samoa simply did not let them get onto the front foot and did not give them space to work with.
APIA, SAMOA - JULY 08: Jack Lam of Manu Samoa goes to ground during the International Test match between Samoa and the New Zealand All Blacks at Apia Stadium on July 8, 2015 in Apia, Samoa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Often teams playing off passion will only last so long. They will stick with the more dominant team for anywhere up to 60 minutes, but eventually they will fall over once that adrenaline runs out.
This did not happen though, as the hosts fought back from 19-3 down to trail just 22-16 late in the game.
They withstood a ton of pressure in the first half, holding the All Blacks try-less despite being trapped inside their own half and then scrambled well to negate a dangerous attacking chance in the second half.
The intensity they showed makes them threatening and they will be a team for everyone to take seriously come World Cup time.
Their ability to get up fast, shut down space and inflict huge hits has the potential to stop their opponents getting any go-forward, which makes it hard to disorganise their defensive line.
Out wide they have attacking threats too, not that they were hugely evident in this latest outing, but there is more than enough in their back line to cause some problems for defences.
APIA, SAMOA - JULY 08: Jack Lam of Manu Samoa goes to ground during the International Test match between Samoa and the New Zealand All Blacks at Apia Stadium on July 8, 2015 in Apia, Samoa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
The big question will be whether they can reproduce this passion and intensity on a consistent basis, as they will need to at the World Cup.
They find themselves in a pool with South Africa and Scotland, both of whom they will have to be up for to beat.
Scotland will be the game they look to target and not doubt they will try to bully their big and strong forward pack. They will need intensity for that though, as technically and structurally the Scottish are superior to a Samoan team whose strength comes in their relentless passion.
The Springboks could find them a banana-skin team too, as they nearly did four years ago when they escaped with a hugely unconvincing 13-5 win.
You are doing well if you can match the South African forward pack for physicality, but if they bring their best, this Samoan team could do just that. If you can match the physical threat the Springboks bring, you go a long way towards beating them, which is why you would never write off Samoa.
If they get through their pool, their next match-up would be with one of England, Australia and Wales. All are teams that could go deep into the tournament, but at the same time, all are teams that could be upset by the relentless passion and brutality Samoa can bring.
In a one-off game, you just never know what could happen, particularly if one team is capable of bringing big-game intensity.
But it comes back to whether they can consistently bring that same intensity they brought against the All Blacks.
It is one thing to do it in an historic test against the best team in the world in front of your home fans, but quite another to do it every week on the other side of the world.
If they can manage it though, we know what they can do. They have played the role of spoiler team before and from what we have seen, they are more than capable of doing it again.
