Perth-born Carlo Tizzano will start at openside flanker against Italy in his hometown on Saturday night as part of round three of the Nations Championship.<\/p>\n
His inclusion for his first Test of 2026, is one of three changes to the starting XV from last weekend\u2019s Test against France, with his club teammate Brandon Paenga-Amosa starting at hooker, having put in a strong shift in Brisbane last weekend.<\/p>\n
Winger Harry Potter is the final change to the run on side for HBF Park, replacing Dylan Pietsch who is unavailable for selection due to a calf contusion.<\/p>\n
Potter will combine with Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright in the back three, with a settled midfield pairing of Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii selected for what is the final Wallabies Test for coaches Joe Schmidt and Laurie Fisher.<\/p>\n
Experienced props Angus Bell and Allan Alaalatoa finalise the front row, with Josh Canham and Western Force captain Jeremy Williams lining up as the starting locks for the third consecutive Test.<\/p>\n
Tizzano will link with Rob Valetini and Harry Wilson in the back row, while last weekend\u2019s debutant Declan Meredith earns another opportunity at flyhalf, working alongside Brumbies teammate Ryan Lonergan who is named to start at scrumhalf for the third straight match.<\/p>\n
Fellow Brumby Billy Pollard and Queenslander Zane Nonggorr have been selected for their first Test of 2026 in the replacement front row \u2013 with veteran James Slipper the substitute loosehead prop.<\/p>\n
South Coogee junior Miles Amatosero is in line to become Wallaby number 998, named for a potential debut off the pine as the replacement lock, with last weekend\u2019s dual try scorer Fraser McReight the remaining forward cover.<\/p>\n
Tate McDermott and Ben Donaldson are named as the substitute halves, with Filipo Daugunu\u2019s versatility earning him the final spot in the matchday 23.<\/p>\n
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said: \u201cWe’ve shown some encouraging signs but we need to sustain our accuracy and effort throughout the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge for us this week is to perform at a consistently high standard against a dangerous Italian side, who were hugely competitive in the Six Nations, beating both Scotland and England as well as running other teams close.”<\/p>\n
Wallabies team to play Italy at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday July 18 at 6:00pm AWST\u00a0<\/p>\n
1. Angus Bell (52 Tests) – #940; Hunters Hill Rugby Club\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa (27 Tests) – #918; Southern Districts<\/p>\n
3. Allan Alaalatoa (90 Tests) – #896; West Harbour Juniors<\/p>\n
4. Josh Canham (4 Tests) – #987; Harlequin Rugby Club<\/p>\n
5. Jeremy Williams (27 Tests) \u2013 #973; Wahroonga Tigers\u00a0<\/p>\n
6. Rob Valetini (64 Tests) – #929; Harlequin Rugby Club<\/p>\n
7. Carlo Tizzano (14 Tests) – #982; University of Western Australia<\/p>\n
8. Harry Wilson (c) (38 Tests) – #933; Gunnedah Red Devils\u00a0<\/p>\n
9. Ryan Lonergan (7 Tests) – #993; Tuggeranong Vikings<\/p>\n
10. Declan Meredith (1 Test) – #997; Barron Trinity Bulls<\/p>\n
11. Harry Potter (11 Tests) – #989; Moorabbin Rams<\/p>\n
12. Len Ikitau (52 Tests) – #944; Tuggeranong Vikings<\/p>\n
13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (20 Tests) – #988; The Kings School<\/p>\n
14. Max Jorgensen (22 Tests) – #984; Balmain Wolves<\/p>\n
15. Tom Wright (45 Tests) – #939; Clovelly Eagles<\/p>\n
Substitutes<\/p>\n
16. Billy Pollard (20 Tests) – #958; Lindfield Junior Rugby Club<\/p>\n
17. James Slipper (153 Tests) – #843; Bond Pirates<\/p>\n
18. Zane Nonggorr (19 Tests) – #966; Gold Coast Eagles<\/p>\n
19. Miles Amatosero* – uncapped; South Coogee Red Devils<\/p>\n
20. Fraser McReight (41 Tests) – #937; Albany Creek Brumbies\u00a0<\/p>\n
21. Tate McDermott (52 Tests) – #936; Flinders Rugby Club<\/p>\n
22. Ben Donaldson (20 Tests) – #962; Clovelly Eagles<\/p>\n
23. Filipo Daugunu (21 Tests) – #931; Wests Bulldogs<\/p>\n
*denotes potential Test debut\n<\/p>\n
2026 Wallabies Fixtures<\/p>\n
Wallabies 31 defeated by Ireland 33 on Saturday July 4 at Allianz Stadium, Sydney<\/p>\n
Wallabies 26 defeated by France 42 on Saturday July 11 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Italy, 6:00pm AWST on Saturday July 18 at HBF Park, Perth<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Japan, Saturday August 8 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashi-Osaka<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Japan, 3:00pm AEST on Saturday August 15 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Argentina 5:00am AEST on Sunday August 30 at Estadio 23 de Agosto, San Salvador de Jujuy<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Argentina, 5:00am AEST on Sunday September 6 at Est\u00e1dio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs South Africa, 5:30pm AWST on Sunday September 27 at Optus Stadium, Perth<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs New Zealand, 3:10pm AEST on Saturday October 10 at Eden Park, Auckland<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs New Zealand, 3:45pm AEST on Saturday October 17 at Accor Stadium, Sydney<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs England, 2:10am AEDT on Monday November 9 at Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Scotland, 2:10am AEDT on Monday November 16 at Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh<\/p>\n
Wallabies vs Wales, 7:10am AEDT on Sunday November 22, Principality Stadium, Cardiff<\/p>\n
Nations Championships Finals Weekend, Weekend starting November 27<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perth-born Carlo Tizzano will start at openside flanker against Italy in his hometown on Saturday night as part…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7536,25210,335,8285],"class_list":["post-53110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-italy","tag-nations-championship","tag-perth","tag-wallabies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}