Wallabies v Italy: Five takeaways as Joe Schmidt’s tenure ends with an ‘utterly dominant’ display but Les Kiss still has plenty to do
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson with the outgoing head coach Joe Schmidt
Following the Wallabies’ 57-10 victory over Italy in the Nations Championship clash in Perth, here are our five takeaways.
The top line
The Wallabies send Joe Schmidt off in style, racking up their highest points tally under the Kiwi head coach in what was an utterly dominant performance, snapping a five-game losing streak.
Nine tries and six conversions in what was a completely one-sided affair in Perth, as Australia raced into a 38-5 half-time lead by which time the question was not whether Schmidt would be celebrating a win in his final game but how big a victory it would be. Ultimately, the biggest one on Australian soil in 12 years.
Lock Josh Canham reaped the rewards of the attacking brilliance, crossing for a hat-trick, grabbing the first, fourth and seventh tries. Full-back Tom Wright scored the second, hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa the third before Italy captain Michele Lamaro got one back for the visitors.
Angus Bell and Len Ikitau scored in the final 10 minutes before half-time and Italy threatened a comeback with a Monty Ioane try early in the second 40, but Canham, Billy Pollard and Ben Donaldson pushed the Wallabies past 50 and saw them to a memorable victory.
Newbies start to settle
Canham and Declan Meredith were the two most inexperienced players included in the Wallabies’ starting XV this week, the former earning his fifth cap and the latter just his second. This was despite the duo struggling against Les Bleus last weekend.
In fact, Canham went from producing a mare against Ireland, improving against France to dominating against Italy. Schmidt’s second-row selections this month have raised eyebrows, with Nick Frost and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto snubbed in favour of the Queensland Reds lock, the Brumbies’ Lachlan Shaw and the Waratahs’ Miles Amatosero.
The head coach stuck by his guns with Canham in particular, and today he well and truly repaid his faith in him, scoring a hat-trick of tries, producing a fantastic lineout shift and was far more effective in defence – where he really struggled against Les Blues.
As for Meredith, he was given a baptism of fire last weekend, starting against France who have arguably the best tactical kicking game in international rugby and had the brilliant duo of Matthieu Jalibert and Romain Ntamack running the show. The Brumbies rookie was utterly outplayed on his debut but flipped the script in his second start as he bossed the experienced Paolo Garbisi.
He attacked the line with far more confidence and acted more like a conductor than he did last weekend, perhaps realising that sometimes less is more, particularly in the fly-half role. He used the assets around him well and put in a performance that should get him more caps going forward.
Italy learn harsh lessons on the road
The Azzurri headed into this clash boasting back-to-back victories over Australia, something they achieved for the very first time by clinching a 26-19 win last November. However, while many of the names appearing on the teamsheet on Saturday were present nine months ago, the quality of performance was stark.
It’s worth remembering that this is effectively the mid-way point of the season for the Australians and the tail end for the Italians, but similar can be said about November. The travel has certainly taken its toll on the Azzurri too after they fell to defeats to Japan and New Zealand before arriving Down Under. To make matters worse, their head coach was absent today after his ban for ref-bashing following the defeat to the All Blacks.
This was all just a recipe for disaster for the visitors, who were ill-disciplined, inaccurate and overwhelmed by an emotionally driven Wallabies outfit eager to send Schmidt and Laurie Fisher out on a high.
The harsh lessons learned will be that they simply cannot afford to concede penalties at the rate that they did today, as it gifts the opposition possession, territory and 22-metre entries. Against a tier one nation like the Wallabies, you simply cannot afford that kind of ill-discipline. Marco Riccioni’s red card after being substituted was a bizarre incident, officiated correctly too, and another indication of just how ill-disciplined the team was today.
It’s been a frustrating July for the Italians, who are a much better team than what the three results suggest and those frustrations were plainly evident in their performance. Ultimately, they need to learn how to channel their passion into accuracy better because when it clicks, they wreak havoc.
Wallabies’ ruthless attack and dominance on the deck
The biggest success story of the Wallabies’ July campaign has been the team’s attack. Australia entered this game with the third-best 22-metre entry conversion rate, averaging 4.4 points per entry into the final quarter of the pitch, and continued that trend against the Azzurri, ruthlessly scoring 38 first-half points off just seven entries.
Schmidt is renowned for his trick plays, attacking structures and emphasis on ball-in-hand skills and running lines, and that was on full display in his final game at the helm of the Wallabies.
This success has been despite the fact that the last two matches have been with a rookie at fly-half, with Meredith running the show after Carter Gordon’s injury in the opener and Donaldson’s setback.
Australia have been quick out of the blocks this July, scoring 12 times in the first 40 minutes, including five in the opening quarter of the three matches, but the biggest work-on will be improving their conversion rate in the final quarter, scoring just twice during that period before today.
Much of their success in attack was due to their dominance on the deck, which allowed them to boss possession and territory for the majority of the game. Carlo Tizzano played like a man possessed and hellbent on making the most of his opportunity in the starting XV with Fraser McReight dropping to the bench. He wasn’t just a pest to the Azzurri’s attack but was excellent in clearing out rucks to ensure the Wallabies held onto the ball and was ably assisted by the starting locks and his fellow back-rowers.
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How Joe Schmidt will be remembered
31 Tests. 12 wins. 19 losses. 27 new Wallabies. Those are the raw numbers of Schmidt’s tenure in charge of Australia after he was tasked with turning the team’s fortunes around after a disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign under Eddie Jones, the Wallabies exiting the tournament at the pool stages for the first time.
The remit would have been simple: make the Wallabies competitive again, particularly for the British and Irish Lions Test Series. And to his credit, Schmidt did precisely that, something which looked impossible just 12 months prior. Australia were truly impressive in November of 2024 and ran the Lions close in the opening two Tests and ultimately won the third.
A stunning 38-22 victory over the Springboks at Ellis Park after going 23-0 down will remain the result of Schmidt’s tenure, as Australia clinched their first win in Johannesburg over the hosts since 1963. However, if one scrutinises the former Ireland boss’ tenure, he was perhaps not as successful as his fanfare suggests.
27 players debuted during his two years in charge, but one of the targets would have been creating depth. Has that been achieved? Not really. The back-row is well stocked, but it is always the case with the Wallabies – just ask Liam Gill, the brilliant openside who spent his career behind Michael Hooper and David Pocock. Australia are still heavily reliant on James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa, the former pulled out of international retirement this July.
Schmidt has established Ikitau and Joseph Suaalii as the Wallabies’ first-choice centre pairing. That is crucial in the modern international game but one has to wonder whether he has overcommitted to the duo and not had a close enough look at other options. After Noah Lolesio dominated the number 10 jersey in 2024, the outgoing head coach has been forced to blood players into the role through injury, with Gordon, James O’Connor, Louis Lynagh, Donaldson, Louis Lynagh and Meredith all handed the playmaking reins with varying success. Depth has been built there, but that has been enforced rather than by choice.
Les Kiss will certainly know a lot more about the Wallabies’ depth thanks to the number of players that Schmidt used throughout his tenure, but that doesn’t mean that the depth has actually deepened.
What will be a concern is the lack of crucial players in key roles. Ikitau and Suaalii are the centres and may well be the pairing entrusted by Kiss too, but it’s still not clear who the Wallabies’ first-choice hooker, scrum-half, fly-half, and lineout lock is.
Wright often looks to be the go-to full-back, but that isn’t nailed-on; Harry Wilson is definitely the preferred number eight, but the rest of the spine needs attention. Schmidt has rotated hookers throughout his time with the team; the fly-half issue isn’t his doing, and not helped by Lolesio leaving Australian shores, but Frost looked the go-to number five until this month. For many of the top nations, the key players in these crucial roles are clear to see; Australia need to get there and ASAP.
The last question is, does Kiss have a good foundation to build from? The answer is probably. Schmidt has certainly succeeded in making the Wallabies a better team, a more competitive one, but not a consistent one. After beating the Boks last year in the Rugby Championship, Australia didn’t kick on against the All Blacks and went winless in November. This July, they lost to France and Ireland by narrow margins, but managed to get the job done against Italy today. The players are there; the system has promise, but Kiss still has plenty to do.
READ MORE: Wallabies: Why Joe Schmidt is feeling ‘lost’ ahead of final Test as head coach
