In Udine, Italian rugby delivered another statement win — and this time, the message was loud and clear. Italy overturned Australia 26–19 on Saturday, powered by two players with Australian bloodlines who came back to haunt the Wallabies.
Louis Lynagh, son of Australian great Michael Lynagh, and Melbourne-born Monty Ioane, nephew of former Wallaby Digby Ioane, scored in quick succession to complete a stirring second-half comeback and seal Italy’s second win over Australia in three years.
For decades, Italy could only dream of beating the Wallabies. They had lost all 20 previous encounters until breaking through in Florence in 2022. Now, the Azzurri have done it again — and this time, it feels like more than an upset.
Head coach Gonzalo Quesada said the victory was the product of steady growth and belief.
“This team has reached a point of maturity where it can win matches it wouldn’t have a few years ago,” he said. “We didn’t need a perfect game — we just needed to trust the process. Even with errors and missed lineouts, the team kept its nerve.”
The Wallabies, seeking redemption after a deflating loss to England the previous week, came in with changes and renewed intent. Coach Joe Schmidt handed starts to Tom Hooper and Carter Gordon, hoping to inject energy into a weary side. But by the end of the night, Australia were again searching for answers.
“That’s a dip we can’t afford to have,” Schmidt admitted to Stan Sport. “We’ve got two massive games coming up against Ireland and France, and we need to regroup fast.”
Italy struck first through the boot of Paolo Garbisi, who punished Australia’s slow start with two early penalties. The Wallabies responded as hooker Matt Faessler powered over from a maul, and prop Angus Bell added a second try to push them ahead.
But Garbisi’s accuracy kept Italy close — his third and fourth penalties tying the score at 12–12 shortly after halftime.
Carter Gordon then marked his return from rugby league with a try that briefly restored Australia’s lead to 19–12. Yet his night ended five minutes later with a quad injury, just as momentum began to shift.
The real turning point came in the 58th minute when Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Garbisi. Italy immediately pounced. Lynagh finished off a slick move to level the match before scrum-half Stephen Varney broke through to set up Ioane for the go-ahead try.
The closing stages were frenetic. Australia threatened through Billy Pollard, who was held up over the line, while Italy’s Federico Ruzza intercepted but lacked the pace to finish. Still, the Azzurri’s defense held firm, with Lorenzo Cannone forcing a crucial turnover in the dying moments to close out the win
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