Following their nine tries to two, 57-10 hammering by Australia in Perth, here is how we rated the banned Gonzalo Quesada’s disappointing Italy performance in their third consecutive Nations Championship loss.
Italy player ratings
15 Lorenzo Pani: One of nine XV changes following last weekend’s loss to the All Blacks, he gave the assist pass for Italy’s opening try but otherwise endured a forgettable evening where he was unable to help shore up a broken defence that collectively missed 42 tackles. 4
14 Louis Lynagh: This return to the land of his legendary father Michael was an ugly one, his effort blighted by too many errors. The malaise continued right to the finish where he was too easily bumped to the floor by Max Jorgensen in the final-minute try. 3
13 Nacho Brex: If the Azzurri had a team full of players cut from the same committed cloth as the midfielder, they would not be getting thumped by a 47-point losing margin. His physicality was evident in the way he decked Jorgensen on 22 minutes and then won a penalty poach against Len Ikitau 12 minutes later, but there were also too many missed tackles and nothing in attack. 5
12 Paolo Odogwu: Seeing the once-England-coveted winger slotted in at inside centre in place of Tommaso Menoncello was a shock sight. A forward pass midway through the first half was annoying, but he put in a half-decent shift on both sides of the ball and wasn’t the biggest culprit in this depressing schooling for Italy. 5
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11 Monty Ioane: Some suspect defending, as witnessed in his vulnerability for the concession of the second try on nine minutes, but he provided his team with a rare bright spot when needing just 43 seconds in the second half to score a try after he had initially got up in the air to contest the kick-off with the game resuming at 38-5 against the visitors. 5
10 Paolo Garbisi: Under the pump and operating off crumbs while he was out there. His thankless task was encapsulated in the try finished just before the break by Ikitau; he was busy looking to intervene but when he did, he couldn’t get low enough on the line. 4
9 Alessandro Garbisi: Similar to his brother at No.10, scrum-half was a depressing place to be, trying to survive behind a pack struggling for respite. He wasn’t totally blameless for his annoyance. A botched 43rd-minute box kick that literally went up and straight down was an example of how he blundered himself, a shortcoming reiterated 10 minutes later when he was penalised for not feeding the ball into a scrum quick enough. That delay marked the end of Italy’s mini second-half revival. 4
The forwards
8 Ross Vintcent: Some moments were deflating, such as a 48th-minute no-release penalty concession at a time when Italy were enjoying their best spell and then when not getting low enough to deny Josh Canham from completing his hat-trick, but his engine couldn’t be faulted and he was credited in the post-game stats with making a heart-stopping 34 tackles. 6
7 Michele Lamaro (c): His captaincy must be questioned – this was an Italian team that was left looking ragged, three tries down after just 12 minutes. To his credit, he did respond, getting the ball down for a try eight minutes later despite having Harry Potter and Tom Wright hanging off him, but better leadership was needed in what will go down in the history books as a hellish July tour. 5
6 Riccardo Favretto: Still learning the ropes at Test level, the onslaught experienced against the Wallabies will stand to him in the long run. Didn’t shirk the tackle, but his overall quality wasn’t the sturdiness that was needed to slow up the Aussie pack. 4
5 Federico Ruzza: A monster in the Six Nations, there were times he was all at sea here in a pack that didn’t have the connections it enjoyed a few months ago. He did have his nuisance moments, like when he stripped Harry Wilson to deny what would have been a bonus point try less than 25 minutes in, but maul defence was a poor aspect of Italy’s play that he must take a share of the blame for. 4
4 Giulio Marini: It’s been an international baptism of fire for the rookie, going from a debut cap last weekend versus New Zealand to his team getting a hiding in Australia. He will be pleased that he didn’t go missing, like some of his colleagues, as attested to by his chunky tackle count that was only second to Vintcent. 5
3 Marco Riccioni: Came up with a couple of scrum penalty wins and was exhibited good hands in Italy’s opening try, but his moment that will be most remembered was rather dubious – the receipt of a red card 11 minutes after he had been substituted. Rather than mind his own business, he got involved with Miles Amatosero on the sideline and was sent packing. A place in rugby’s hall of infamy is now his. 3
2 Gianmarco Lucchesi: He will point to his 20-something tackles as a straw to clutch, but for a hooker making his 36th Test appearance, his initial throwing at the lineout was wounding for a team leaking like a sieve. It wasn’t that contests were lost in the air; it was that he threw two overthrows. Terrible. 3
1 Muhamed Hasa: Another of the forwards learning the ropes at Test level, this was a struggle for him. This was evident in how he went way too high with his attempted tackle to stop Australia’s opening fourth-minute try. 3
Replacements: Italy’s chastening evening was perhaps summed by the sight of sub back-rower Alessandro Ortombina dislocating a finger not long after coming on for his second cap. The Italian bench helped to slow the Aussie rate of scoring in the second half and that deserves a hat tip. 5