English imprint on Samoan fairytale

THERE is one Englishman who could still win the World Cup at Old Trafford tonight. Although the host nation will not contest the final, Hull-born Lee Radford will be there as the assistant coach of their semifinal conquerors Samoa.

And the Castleford boss expects the 60,000plus crowd to back the Pacific Islanders against Australia, who are looking to lift the trophy for the ninth time in 10 editions. ‘We’re sick of seeing Australia win it,’ said Radford. ‘You’ll have lots of local support. Hopefully this little nation causes an upset.’ Whatever the outcome, this ‘tiny dot in the middle of the Pacific’ — to quote their head coach Matt Parish — have already made waves by becoming the first tier-two country to reach the final. Flags of Samoa, who have a population of just 200,000, have not just sold out in their own capital, Apia, but also in Sydney and Auckland, where there are large Samoan communities. ‘It’s gone global,’ said Stephen Crichton, who hit the winning drop goal in the semifinal. ‘Flags have sold out everywhere. It is crazy that it has gone worldwide.’

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