Who knew the final phase of rugby league’s Pacific revolution would arrive to the sounds of Neil Diamond, but it did as the delirious Samoa players sang Sweet Caroline after exacting revenge against England in the semi-final of the Rugby League World Cup.
Samoan flags have sold out across Australia and the “685 revolution” (a reference to the country’s international dialling code) has gone international with street parades and “chee-Hoo”, the universal Samoan expression of joy, screamed at all hours in Apia, Western Sydney, Auckland and even in the American-Samoan colonies in Utah.
