Tonga and Samoa, once regarded as rugby league's minnows, have become major draws at the World Cup being held in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, ABC News reports.
Samoa's 78-4 win over France drew about 13,000 fans to Western Sydney Stadium despite an early Friday evening kick-off, and 1.7 million Australians watched Fiji play the Cook Islands on television. The Samoa v Tonga match in Sydney on 1 November was the first game of the tournament to sell out, prompting calls to move it to the larger Stadium Australia.
The ABC links the trend to Australia's growing Pasifika population, which rose from 165,000 in 2011 to more than 415,000 in 2021, and to a 2017 rule change that lets players with ties to more than one nation choose which to represent.
Source: ABC News Australia
