MATCH STATS

IN THE final stages of Samoa's extraordinary victory over the Wallabies, they ran towards a rainbow that hovered above the southern stands at ANZ Stadium.

Blue Sunday ... Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom, who missed the majority of the Super Rugby season with injury, struggles to fight his way through the physical Samoan defence. Credit:Getty Images

This just added to the surreal nature of a memorable Test where the Samoans were handed the most unexpected pot of gold by enjoying their most unexpected of Test victories, leading for the entire 80 minutes and turning the Wallabies into a complete rabble. So comprehensive was the triumph that the Wallabies were never in the match, and lucky to get within nine points of a supposed minnow rugby nation.

And the warning signs that the Wallabies were in big trouble emerged shortly after kick-off. They were soon losing the breakdown battle, fumbling the ball simply through Samoa's sheer physical force. The Australian backs were quickly looking for places to hide - because when they went into the tackle they came out of it looking like punch-drunk boxers, who had hit the canvas five or six times and looking for mercy from the referee.