Let me say how proud I am to be a Samoan.

What?

I'm not?

Oh, I'm a fifth generation Australian of Irish, Chinese and En... Engl....Let me sit down: English (there I said it) heritage who lives in New York.

Man, that's disappointing, the NY thing I mean.

I felt sure I had some Pacific Islander blood, but I am terrified of tattoos, Iack humility and have an aversion to running straight, so I guess it's all too obvious.

My legs aren't tree trunks and my extended family members haven't spent the last 25 years shoring up teams such as the All Blacks, the Wallabies and now En ... Engl ... England.

So I guess, as a proud, fifth generation Australian I'm shattered by the Wallabies' defeat at the hand of Manu Samoa.

Nah. And forget condemning the Wallabies. They got hammered: monstered, mangled and wasn't it fantastic?

Regardless of the code, you don't often get a chance to watch a game of footy where the good guys win and we need to cherish it when it does happen.

Screw the angst-riddled, post-mortem for the Wallabies.

The most important insight from the Test in Sydney was the Samoans were magnificent and that, my thunder thigh friends, is largely that.

But, by extension, if international rugby and the pissweak world of professional franchise leagues don't get a hint from the Sydney match that there's a broad advantage to letting/assisting/making beautiful rugby countries like Samoa field their best in Tests, then there's no hope.

We might as well watch AFL. Well, maybe not.

Rugby union has a 110 year leg up in the Pacific, but apathy, colonial stupidity, arrogance and racism have helped erode the size 14 foothold the game had in the islands. Wisely, rugby league and Aussie rules are chomping away at talent pool in the region, but here's the beast: American football.

Sure, they're drawing on American Samoa too - that gives them 66,000 souls, on top of the 185,000 in Western Samoa to recruit. That number is ‘total' population which includes lovely big mummas and grandpas. Come on, it's roughly the equivalent of part of the Parramatta region in Sydney or a couple of Melbourne suburbs with real beaches.

So in addition to producing a team capable of beating the world's number two (Australia), supplying players to national teams (New Zealand etc.) and producing dozens capable of playing professionally in France, Britain, Ireland and Japan, Samoa is represented by about 30 -- that's 30 -- footballers in the NFL.

Oh and there's estimated to be a couple of hundred of Samoan heritage playing college football on the gridiron. And these aren't silly old semi-retired duffers from Aussie rules incapable of actually tackling anyone when they have the gall to run their punt kicks back.

I mean, who is left in Apia?

Oh that's right, the soccer team that is emerging as a force in Oceania.Yep, they are overachievers individually. Now, with a bit of luck, a few weeks together and, hopefully, few injuries, they might put a flame up the skirts of their pool opponents, including South Africa and Wales at the rugby World Cup.

Regardless, the Samoans have already done more than enough for world rugby. Sunday's wonderful, brutal exhibition against the Wallabies was just the latest reminder of what gems they are for the game.

It shouldn't take the four-year, World Cup cycle for international rugby to fully embrace these great disciples. An active and conspicuous plan to ensure American football and the other pretenders keep their filthy mitts off Samoa should be a top shelf priority. Now.

Did I mention I am proud to be Samoan?