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Australia’s Josh Canham , center, score the first try against Italy during their Nations Championship rugby international test match in Perth, Australia, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gary Day\/AP Photo\/Gary Day<\/p>\n
Australia’s coach Joe Schmidt watches his team warm up before their Nations Championship rugby international test match against Italy in Perth, Australia, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gary Day\/AP Photo\/Gary Day<\/p>\n
Australia’s Brandon Paenga-Amosa, third left, celebrates scoring a try against Italy during their Nations Championship rugby international test match in Perth, Australia, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gary Day\/AP Photo\/Gary Day<\/p>\n
Italy’s Riccardo Favretto, left, is tackled by Australia’s Brandon Paenga-Amosa during their Nations Championship rugby international test match in Perth, Australia, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gary Day\/AP Photo\/Gary Day<\/p>\n
Australia’s Declan Meredith, center, is tackled while making a run against Italy during their Nations Championship rugby international test match in Perth, Australia, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gary Day\/AP Photo\/Gary Day<\/p>\n
PERTH, Australia (AP) \u2014 Joe Schmidt’s tenure as Australia’s head coach ended with a victory on Saturday, with the Wallabies beating Italy 57-10 in the Nations Championship to end a six-test losing streak.<\/p>\n
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The Australians scored six tries to one in the first half, with lock Josh Canham crossing for two, and led 38-5 to set up the win in Perth.<\/p>\n
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Canham scored again \u2014 his third try \u2014 when he picked up at the base of a ruck meters from Italy’s tryline and burrowed over in the 52nd minute to give the home team a 45-10 lead.<\/p>\n
The Wallabies had big leads in their last two tests but surrendered them in a 42-26 loss to Six Nations champion France in Brisbane and a 33-31 loss to Ireland in Sydney in the opening round of the Nations Championship. The Australians were determined to end Schmidt’s stint on a positive note. They started well, and this time held the momentum in Perth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve done that a few times, you\u2019ve got to learn from those experiences, and I felt we did tonight,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cWe got far enough in front that it wasn\u2019t really going to matter if we weren\u2019t as good in the second half, but, there was some good stuff in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canham crossed in the fourth minute and fullback Tom Wright and hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa also scored in the opening 12 minutes. Canham, prop Angus Bell and center Len Ikitau all scored in the 15 minutes before the break.<\/p>\n
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Canham and Billy Pollard scored in the second half before replacement back Ben Donaldson dived over in the 80th minute to cap the victory after a rampaging run from backrower Rob Valetini.<\/p>\n
Captain Michele Lamaro scored Italy’s only points of the first half with a try in the 20th minute, and Montanna Ioane crossed just after halftime in some rare highlights for the visitors. The Italians had a try disallowed for a knock-on in-goal in the 75th on video review.<\/p>\n
The first phase of the new Nations Championship tournament ended without a win for the Italians, and with coach Gonzalo Quesada suspended and not allowed on the sidelines. It got worse when a wrestle between players in the 66th minute spilled from the touchline into the technical area and knocked some Italy support staff off their chairs. It resulted in a red card for Marco Riccioni, the Italian prop who had already been replaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cGutted. Obviously very disappointed with the result and the performance we put in,\u201d Lamaro said of Saturday’s result, and the tour generally. \u201cWe played a very good first half against the All Blacks last week, but apart from that we’ve been pretty poor.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Quesada was initially issued a two-game suspension for referee criticism following Italy\u2019s 47-17 loss to New Zealand last week, but had the ban reduced to one game on appeal.<\/p>\n
He had criticized the match officials for a yellow card issued to lock Niccol\u00f2 Cannone for a head-butt. The card was upgraded to red and Cannone was later handed a four-match suspension. Italy also lost its tournament-opening test to Japan.<\/p>\n
Schmidt announced last year that he was standing down as Wallabies\u2019 head coach but remained in the role to give his replacement, Les Kiss, time to complete his obligations with the Queensland Reds.<\/p>\n
Schmidt said he was handing over a squad that had made progress over the last 2 1\/2 years, despite its relatively low winning percentage, and was working positively toward next year’s Rugby World Cup on home soil.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think the players are more connected. I think the leaders are more vocal,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cOur fundamentals, our set piece is getting better.<\/p>\n
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