Samoa provided a real Test for the All Blacks and they will be a real chance, on the basis of what we saw from them in Apia, to advance out of pool play at the Rugby World Cup in a couple of months. They are in the same pool as South Africa, Japan, Scotland and the United States, and clearly the key game will be against Scotland.

Samoa are ranked No.9 in the world, they are inside the top 10, but they hail from a third-world country. They have no money but still match up and go toe-to-toe with the world's best, sharing a try apiece with the All Blacks.

They deserve a lot more respect.

We can bring Japan and Argentina into our Super Rugby set-up but we ignore the sides who are on our doorstep. It is almost like World Rugby, SANZAR and New Zealand Rugby are not giving them a leg up because it is not in our best interest to give them a leg up.

If Samoa had some financial backing, the rest of the world should watch out; that goes for Tonga and Fiji as well. We have got the best rugby players in the world in the Pacific - including New Zealand - and the mind boggles if the island nations could be involved in one of these competitions where they could generate some cash.

Samoan rugby needs help, but it does have to look at its own doorstep first because there are too many administrative mistakes and concerns about the union's management of the game; third party help must also have some sort of governance around where the money generated goes.

Samoa's Kahn Fotualii (L) and Tusi Pisi perform Siva Tau © Getty Images

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If we look after Pacific Islands rugby, we will have the strength of the game in the world right on our doorstep. With Japan, Argentina and South Africa, who were also-rans in Super Rugby this year, we are only making them stronger. But the real heart of world rugby is in the Pacific.

It is certainly a treasure trove sitting there. We all know how good these rugby players are. And that result, in Samoa, I can say with hand on heart was absolutely no surprise to me. I always knew it was going to be a close game. In 1993, in the first Test between the two countries, I played and it was a blood bath; I know exactly how Luke Romano felt with the blow to his head because his face afterwards looked like mine did back then.

New Zealand's George Moala slides over for a try © Getty Images

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The All Blacks found themselves in a street fight in Apia. They knew that was going to happen. I don't think a lot of the rugby media in New Zealand saw that coming, but if you know how the psyche of the Samoan people works you better understand. They are very respectful people. They're strong and brutal, and they love big hits, and they were always going to perform in front of their own people. And that was what we saw.

For New Zealand, Dan Carter played really well. His composure was good, and he was steadying. Opportunities didn't come because Samoa's defence was so good, but New Zealand pinned the hosts in their own territory so they were in the right part of the field when Samoa did concede penalties; and Carter kicked his goals.

Carter is so solid on defence. He made some good tackles on some big boys running down his channel. Any other 10 would not have stood up to it. Carter just solidifies that No.1 channel, with the tackles he makes, and then the All Blacks have Richie McCaw on the inside channel. That is why the All Blacks have been so good when these guys have been together. You can't run down the one channel so you have got to look elsewhere.

There will be critics out there who claim the All Blacks have given away Test caps cheaply but I disagree. Brad Weber is definitely a player for the future; Nepo Laulala, technically in his set-up, is one of the best tight-head props playing the game in New Zealand at the moment; Charlie Ngatai has a massive future and, while he didn't get much time, he looked more dangerous than Sonny Bill Williams did at any stage of the game; and the number of George Moala's appearances will be curtailed only by the traffic he has in front of him in his position. All four new caps played well against what was a really strong Samoan team, and they have not worn the jersey for the last time.

New Zealand's Kieran Read charges forward © Getty Images

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New Zealand Rugby deserve to be congratulated for taking the game to Apia, and I am sure coach Steve Hansen will be pleased to have had this chance ahead of the Rugby Championship. The All Blacks, even the new boys, stood up and they had a tussle; this was an occasion that produced a lot of positives for both teams.

It was interesting that Jaco Peyper had control of the game because I thought his display in the Super Rugby final in Wellington was one of the best refereeing efforts I have ever seen; that fixture was the best game I have seen this year contested by two teams playing the way we want to see rugby played.

The spirit in which the final was played was great, the skills levels were extremely high, and Peyper's control was top drawer. Looking ahead to law changes after Rugby World Cup, they should look at that final if they need a template for how the game should be played.

Even at the scrum, he took the attitude of considering whether there was any need to blow his whistle; if there wasn't, he allowed them to play on. Unfortunately he didn't do that in Apia but on Saturday he did and he had an attitude of 'Let's get on with it'.

His performance reflected what I said earlier this year: the referee should be asking 'In the context of the game do I need to blow the whistle?' That's got to be the key message but I'm sure that won't apply at the World Cup, which is unfortunate.