Samoa skipper calls for “more tests” as he and James Tedesco enjoy unique English atmospheres

The atmosphere at the Rugby League World Cup was something special.

Though it reached its zenith when Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield completed his latest fundraising challenge for Rob Burrow, it was still a special atmosphere with 67,502 fans at Old Trafford.

Despite the fact Samoa had dumped England out of the tournament a week earlier, English fans were on their side as they booed Australia.

However, eventual Man of the Match and Australia skipper James Tedesco thoroughly enjoyed this on what he described as a “special” day.

“To captain my country to a World Cup, it’s pretty surreal especially at Old Trafford,” he said, “It’s a special group, we all just got along from the start. It’s pretty special.

“That’s cool, I’m just glad we won. I wanted to lead us to the win. That was the goal at the start. I’m happy we can celebrate together.”

On the atmosphere itself, he said: “We soaked it all in there weren’t many people supporting us. It was good, I enjoyed it.

“We didn’t expect much support in a World Cup Final in England.”

Meanwhile, Samoa skipper Junior Paulo described it as “awesome” and believes it is a sign that the sport needs “more tests.”

He said: “It was awesome, last week we were on the other end of the stick, that shows how good the game is.

“It shows the respect. I think international rugby league deserves more tests.”