Following a 57-10 victory over Italy in the Nations Championship clash at HBF Park on Saturday, here are the player ratings for the Wallabies.
15 Tom Wright: Finished his try well and was once again instrumental in the Wallabies’ attack. Offers a triple threat of pass, run and kick, and that kept the Italian defence guessing. 7
14 Max Jorgensen: Had a try ruled out, and that probably summed up what was a frustrating night for the wing, who struggled to get his hands on the ball, and when he did, his kick landed straight into the arms of a visiting player. 6
13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii: Much more involved from the centre as he regularly got his hands on the ball. Australia would no doubt like to see him be a bit more effective with it, but it was still an improvement from Suaalii. 6
12 Len Ikitau: Better in defence than he was in attack, with Ikitau’s carrying not too impactful. Without the ball, he did excellently to chase back and stop an Azzurri counter while the centre also won a turnover. 7
Magical display
11 Harry Potter: Back in the side and in the thick of the action with Potter an absolute menace to the opposition rearguard. The wing was their most effective back with ball in hand as he regularly made metres. 8
10 Declan Meredith: A clear improvement from the fly-half. The caveat is of course that he was behind a pack getting significant go-forward, but Meredith still made the right decisions, kicked well out of hand and was a running threat himself. 8
9 Ryan Lonergan: Meredith’s impressive performance was also partly down to Lonergan, who did everything nicely from the base of the ruck. Slick service and sound decision-making, while he also did the goal-kicking. 8
8 Harry Wilson (c): Solid enough from the captain, although he hasn’t been quite at his best over these last three weeks. Always puts himself about, however, with his work ethic outstanding. 6
7 Carlo Tizzano: The Wallabies used to have David Pocock and Michael Hooper, as well as George Smith and Phil Waugh, and now they’ve got Fraser McReight and Tizzano. After McReight impressed against Ireland and France, the Western Force man was given a shot in the final game and he was exceptional. Utterly dominant at the breakdown. 8
6 Rob Valetini: Part of a pack that controlled the gain line battle with Valetini physical carrying into traffic. Perhaps didn’t make the metres he can do, but the flanker tends to get his side on the front foot. 7
Superb second-rows
5 Jeremy Williams: A superb all-round showing from the 25-year-old with the lock contributing in the carry, defence and the set-piece. Josh Canham got all the glory but his lock partner was just as good. 8
4 Josh Canham: Akin to Meredith, he was thrown in at the deep end, starting against Ireland and France, and it was perhaps too big for him, but this was much more like it. Canham’s technical work in scrum, lineout and at the restart has been good, but there were errors elsewhere. However, that was improved on Saturday with the second row good in defence this weekend and bruising in the carry, helping himself to a hat-trick. 8
3 Allan Alaalatoa: Part of a scrum which has developed nicely at the start of the season. It wasn’t too much of a factor against the Italians, but it is becoming a weapon for the Wallabies. 6
2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa: Another forward to enjoy a fine game with Paenga-Amosa pinpoint in the set-piece and a bundle of energy around the field. Helped himself to a try while he was also effective in defence. 7
1 Angus Bell: Similar to Alaalatoa, he set things up nicely with his scrum work, while Bell had a few rumbles with ball in hand. 6
Replacements: The game was very much won by the time the replacements came on and had entered a bit of a lull. Zane Nonggorr won a nice turnover and debutant Miles Amatosero was abrasive, but there weren’t too many standouts from the bench until the very last minute when they manufactured a fantastic try for Ben Donaldson. 6