International rugby league feels alive after Pacific Championships thriller. The best is still to come

Sunday afternoon's Pacific Championships thriller between New Zealand and Samoa had some of the game's all-time greats in Billy Slater and Andrew Johns salivating at the Nine commentary desk - but the truth is, the best is yet to come.

Ben Gardiner's men put up one hell of a fight against the Kiwis, falling 24-18 in front of a raucous crowd in Auckland, with their ever-improving squad narrowing the gap between the tier-one and tier-two nations in rugby league.

The continued 'defections' - a word that would usually have negative connotations but in this case, has been an unbridled positive - have bolstered not only Samoa's team, but plenty of other developing nations in the 13-man code.

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Samoa boasted five players - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Murray Taulagi, Josh Papalii, Payne Haas and Jeremiah Nanai - who have previously represented tier-one countries, while another five players who have played at State of Origin level.

Haas in particular has elevated Samoa's team to a new level, given his standing as not only the best prop but one of the best players in the entire world.

It will be a similar story next weekend when Tonga kick off their Pacific Championships campaign, with at least five Origin players and two former tier-one stars in Addin Fonua-Blake and Jason Taumalolo set to pull on the iconic red strip.

Even beyond those who have switched allegiances to Tonga and Samoa, some of the game's brightest young stars are now following in the footsteps of Taumalolo and Haas from their very start of their careers when it comes to rep football.

Watch the 2025 Pacific Championships live and free on Nine and 9Now.

Isaiah Iongi, Isaiya Katoa and Leka Halasima will all play for Tonga during the year-end tournament, while Blaize Talagi and Deine Mariner lined up for Samoa on Sunday.

New Zealand, even after losing some key players to rival nations, still did enough to claim victory and have a deep pool of talent to choose from.

Even in the level below - at least from an on-field results perspective - Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Cook Islands are all getting stronger every time Test footy rolls around.

Tigers fullback Jahream Bula holds the weight of Fiji on his shoulders moving forward and impressed on Saturday, scoring four tries in the first half against Cook Islands.

Throw in the likes of Sunia Turuva, Kitione Kautoga and the Fainu brothers and there's plenty of reason to be optimistic in Fiji's long-term future.

Even in defeat, there is certainly room for optimism for the Cook Islands - a country of just over 13,000 people - heading into the next World Cup.

KL Iro is emerging as one of the most exciting centres in the game, Brendan Piakura is now a premiership winner and Marata Niukore is a well-established NRL forward.

Niukora and Davvy Moale didn't feature in the 44-24 loss to Fiji and will only help improve the side in the short-term.

But the biggest boost for the Aitu will come in the form of Valentine Holmes, who has already indicated he will give up Kangaroos duties next year.

Holmes won't feature in the Pacific Championships as a player, but has joined a coaching staff led by Karmichael Hunt and is looking to help usher in a golden era for the island.

The 30-year-old has been a staple for Australia and Queensland for many years, but has opted to spend the back-end of his career representing his heritage.

England have even added more NRL talent to their squad for the Ashes series, which kicks off in the early hours of Sunday morning (AEDT) against Australia.

AJ Brimson, Herbie Farnworth and Kai Pearce-Paul are all high-quality players, while Victor Radley is still expected to feature in the next World Cup despite withdrawing from the three-game series with the Kangaroos after a tumultuous few months.

The international game is thriving and we are now at a time where there could possibly be five live chances to take out a Rugby League World Cup.

It's a far cry from when it was Australia vs the rest every four years.