Rugby, Nations Championship: Italy Disappoints Again and Suffers a Defeat in Australia

Italy closed out the first phase of the 2026 Nations Championship with its third loss in as many games—following defeats to Japan and New Zealand—falling to Australia by a decisive 57-10 margin. At HBF Park in Perth, the outcome was never in doubt: the Azzurri—playing today without head coach Gonzalo Quesada, who was suspended—had to settle for sporadic plays but were unable to stem the “Green and Gold” tide.

The first major score came at the 3-minute mark and was scored by Canham: Lonergan missed the conversion, but the two-point deficit did not shake the confidence of Joe Schmidt’s team, who scored again with tries by Wright at the 8-minute mark and Paenga-Amosa at the 11-minute mark, nor from Lonergan himself, who this time converted both tries for a 19-0 lead that set the tone for the match.

The Azzurri got off the board with a try by Lamaro in the 19th minute, which Paolo Garbisi failed to convert (hitting the post), but Australia regained control shortly afterward, scoring three more tries: one by Canham in the 27th minute (not converted), Paenga-Amosa in the 31st minute, and Ikitau in the 40th minute (the latter two with conversion kicks by Lonergan). At halftime, the score was 38–5; the match was a one-sided affair.

To be honest, the second half actually started well for the Azzurri, with Ioane scoring a try just one minute in (another post for Garbisi, who missed the conversion), but in fact these were Italy’s last points, as Canham scored his third individual try at the 52-minute mark (converted by Lonergan) and those by Pollard at the 65-minute mark (Meredith missed the conversion) and Donaldson after time had expired (converted by Donaldson himself).

There was also a tense moment in the 66th minute, with Marco Riccioni taking the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: he was sent off for slapping an opponent despite having already left the field to be substituted. All in all, it was a day to forget in the context of a lackluster July for the Azzurri, who conclude their away games (the home games will be played in November) with zero points in the standings and a dismal last-place finish in the Northern Hemisphere group.