Mal Meninga believes Australia are one of the all time great sporting sides

Australia have now won 12 Rugby League World Cups.

That’s seven more than football’s most successful World Cup side, Brazil, and nine more than the All Blacks and South Africa in rugby union.

They made it three on the spin at the weekend as the defeated Samoa at Old Trafford 30-10.

After the game, there was a suggestion that the Kangaroos could be one of the greatest sporting sides ever.

It was something that Mal Meninga bought into claiming that the legacy goes back to the 1970s calling it “a dominant time.”

He said: “It goes back to the early 1970s when you talk about the winning record. It’s been a dominant time for an Australian team. We accept that really well.

“A dominant team. The expectation is that we win tournaments. It’s not a burden to us, we carry it with great humility and respect. We understand nobody wants to see us win, we accept that.”

He also warned that this is the beginning of this particular Australia side: “This is only the beginning of this team, they are going to be together for four, five or six years. We understand no one wants to see us win.”

It remains to be seen whether seen whether England, Tonga, New Zealand and Samoa have a chance of dethroning Australia.