The Wallabies have put the disappointment of last week behind them with dominant 50-20 win over Italy in Turin.
The Match
The Wallabies’ second half display was the difference in the seven tries to three win over a passionate Italian side. Winger Nick Cummins scored a double as the Wallabies backs ran rampant in the second half in an effort that should please coach Ewen McKenzie.
The Italians brought their usual passion in the opening minutes and off the back of an early penalty after strong play from their forwards opened the scoring to lead 3-0.
Quade Cooper had a chance to level the scores right from the restart but his attempt from far out on the left wing was wide.
The Wallabies had their fair share of the ball but the Italian defence was rushing up in their faces and keeping them from getting over the advantage line as they looked to go wide early in attempt to get their backline into play.
The defensive pressure from the home side caused a poor kick from Genia in the attacking half and within the blink of an eye, the Italians had raced down the other end of the field with Aussie born Luke McLean scoring the opening try to have his side up 10-0 within the opening 15 minutes.
That didn’t deter the Wallabies and they hit back with captain Ben Mowen taking a great pass from Quade Cooper to slam it down over the line from close range.
It didn’t take much longer to get their second try after a great run down the left wing from Nick Cummins who offloaded to Tevita Kuridrani right on the line and his weight saw him get over the line. With Cooper’s conversion the Wallabies were in front 14-10.
Cummins was in the thick of the action and had more Test meat on the half hour mark after a brilliant long pass from Genia in the leadup.
That try came on the back of a penalty well inside the Wallabies’ half and this time Toomua made sure of his touch to give his side good field position.
During the half referee Glen Jackson was copping plenty of advice at scrum time with the Wallabies bringing his attention to the way the Italians were setting up before the hit. It wasn’t the last time the scrum was an issue.
The Italians had their chance to close the gap before half time but two missed penalty kicks from Di Bernardo saw the score remain at 19-10 in the Wallabies’ favour.
The second half started with the Italians with all the ball but they were unable to get anything going.
The Aussies had a great chance to extend their lead but a slow lineout feed cost them that chance, although it appeared Jackson was conned by the Italians as they complained about time wasting.
Cummins, who was having a blinder, had his second try of the match ten minutes after the restart from another Cooper short pass to give the Wallabies a 16 point lead.
Another Wallabies penalty and Toomua touchfinder led to the next try with Adam Ashley-Cooper another recipient of a short Quade Cooper pass to go over for the fifth Wallabies try of the night.
To their credit Italy kept chipping away and got back into the game with a close range try from their replacement forward Lorenzo Cittadini to keep the Wallabies on their toes with the score at 33-15.
But that’s where the comeback ended as Christian Leali’ifano added a penalty to extend the lead and from the resulting restart Joe Tomane, who had only just come on, took a flick pass from Stephen Moore and ran untouched to the line.
With the floodgates opened, Israel Folau got his name on the try scorers’ list after Tomane collected a chip kick as the Wallabies hit 50 on the scoreboard with ten minutes remaining.
As the time wound down, the Italians scored their third try of the match after the weight of possession on the back of a number of penalties proved too much to keep out.
The Wallabies will now be full of confidence as they head to Dublin to take on Ireland next week.
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The Game Changer
Nothing controversial this week. Ashley-Cooper’s try in the second half kept Italy out of arm’s reach.
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The G&GR MOTM
With six try scorers it’s a tough choice, but Nick Cummins gets the nod. Scored two tries and set one up in a great match for the Badger.
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The Details
Crowd: 28,000+
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]ITALY: 20
Tries: McLean, Cittadini, Allan
Conversions: Di Bernardo
Penalties: Di Bernado
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[one_half last=”yes”]AUSTRALIA: 50
Tries: Mowen, Kuridrani, Cummins 2, Ashley-Cooper, Tomane, Folau
Conversions: Cooper 4, Lealiifano 2
Penalties: Lealiifano
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Cards
Nil
