Are Pacific island nations ready to set this World Cup alight?

As much as the Pacific Nations have shown signs of improvement, there is still a galactic distance between potential and performance

RESPECT: Caelan Doris of Ireland and Michael Ala'Alatoa of Samoa after the Rugby World Cup warm-up match in Bayonne. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

In looking at the final warm-up matches between the powerhouse northern unions and the Island nations, it would be overly convenient to jump to conclusions about the relative strengths of rugby’s perennial World Cup underdogs.

Yes, Fiji’s historic victory over the English at Twickenham was one to savour for the objective fan who has been crying out for evidence of noticeable shrinkage in the gap between the haves and the have-nots of this supposedly ‘global’ game, but litmus tests don’t return convincing results when conducted a fortnight before the genuine experiment.