Rugby: a disastrous Italia side crushed by Australia

A heavy defeat for the Italian national rugby team on the third day of the 2026 Nations Championship. Italia ends this first phase of the tournament – which pits the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the rugby world against each other – with three defeats from three matches. At HBF Park in Perth, Australia ran out 57–10 winners, scoring nine tries to Italia’s two. Both teams were coming off the back of two defeats: Italia against Japan and New Zealand, and Australia against Ireland and France. Called upon to bounce back, only the Wallabies rose to the challenge. The first half was a one-sided affair, with Australia scoring six tries to Italia’s one. It was one of those matches where you could say only one team actually took to the pitch, with the Azzurri seemingly left in the changing rooms. To put it harshly, one might say, ‘if only they’d done that’. Instead, on the pitch in Perth, they were there and did everything they shouldn’t have done. Too many mistakes and too many fouls, poor defence and a lack of conviction. It’s hard to find anything positive to say about Italia’s performance, with head coach Gonzalo Quesada absent from the touchline following a two-match ban (later reduced to one) for his critical remarks about the referees after the match against the All Blacks. However, not having the coach to oversee the 80 minutes of play cannot be used as an excuse. It is certainly not the reason for the ‘thrashing’ they suffered down under. The match in Perth was the 23rd encounter between Italia and Australia, and before the kick-off, Australia had 20 wins to Italia’s two – though those two were the most recent. The head-to-head record has now been updated to 21–2. The home side’s coach, Joe Schmidt, bids farewell to his final stint in charge of the Australian side with a positive result, following nine defeats in their last ten Test matches.

It’s hard to say whether it was down to the Wallabies’ merit or the Azzurri’s shortcomings, but the fact remains that the match got off to a flying start for Australia, who scored a try in the 4th minute through lock Canham (5–0), with Lonergan missing the conversion – though he would go on to redeem himself with a final tally of 5 out of 7 from the kick. In the 9th minute, the second try came from full-back Wright (12–0) in what, for much of the first half, looked like a one-man show by the home side. In the 12th minute, the third try was scored by hooker Paenga-Amosa (19–0). Italia made a great many errors and were also undisciplined. The Australians did well to capitalise on this and strike at almost every possible opportunity. A small positive sign came from the Italian scrum, which in the 17th minute demonstrated the front row’s solidity, and in the 20th minute there was a proud response with a try by captain Lamaro – though not without the TMO’s intervention to validate the move, which had seemed to fizzle out just as he was about to ground the ball. The doubt was that a last-ditch tackle had prevented the flanker from scoring our side’s first points. However, the right camera angle captured the try. The score stood at 19–5. The story, however, remained the same. Australia continued to dominate. In the 25th minute, a try by winger Jorgensen was disallowed, but less than two minutes later Canham scored his team’s fourth try and his second of the match (24–5). The Wallabies dominated both possession and territory and managed with remarkable ease to penetrate our half and reach the try line. The fifth try followed in the 31st minute, scored by Bell (31–5). Italy’s attempts to fight back proved ineffective; indeed, even when mistakes were made, the Wallabies were the beneficiaries. As the half-time whistle blew, there was still time for Ikitau’s sixth try. The first half thus ended 38–5.

The second half got off to a different start from how the first half had ended. Italia seems to return to the pitch with greater conviction and immediately look to create danger. Indeed, Ioane scores a try early in the 41st minute, but Paolo Garbisi fails to convert it; once again, the post denies him the two extra points (38–10). After around six minutes of play, substitutions were made, though these failed to change the pace of the game. The Azzurri were unable to defend solidly, and the Australians gained ground all too easily. In the 52nd minute, Canham scored his third try of the match (45–10). The match is less fluid than in the first half; there are numerous interruptions, the play is disjointed and there is also a great deal of confusion. The only certainty is that Australia continue to be the only team on the pitch posing a threat. In the 64th minute, Pollard scored the eighth try to make it 50–10. In the 66th minute, an incident occurred that would have consequences for the Azzurri’s upcoming matches. Riccioni was shown a red card, despite having been substituted off, after several players from the pitch – who were involved in a scuffle – collapsed onto the Azzurri bench. Apologies were not enough; the reaction to the hint of a brawl was sufficient for the referee, and our prop is now likely to face a suspension. It all seemed to start with a neck tackle on Zambonin, followed by Fischetti being dragged over the touchline. After watching and rewatching the footage, the referee decided to call it a ‘draw’ regarding what happened on the pitch, and the incident ended with only Riccioni receiving a red card. In the 75th minute, Italia finally seemed to remember the basics of the game: the line-out was good, the rolling maul was good, but the final burst by substitute hooker Dimcheff was less so, as he unfortunately lost the ball just as he was about to score a try. No points for the Azzurri; in fact, it was the hosts who added to the scoreboard once again: Donaldson scored the ninth try with time practically up and converted it for a final score of 57–10.

Australia v Italia 57–10 (half-time 38–5)

For Australia: 9 tries (3 by Canham, 1 by Wright, 1 by Paenga-Amosa, 1 by Bell, 1 by Ikitau, 1 by Pollard and 1 by Donaldson), 6 conversions (5 by Lonergan, 1 by Donaldson)