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Australia Hosts Italy in Perth as Joe Schmidt’s Tenure Ends
Joe Schmidt coaches Australia for the final time against Italy on Saturday in round three of the 2026 Nations Championship. The Wallabies enter with six straight losses and nine defeats in their past 10 Tests.
Jul 18, 5:10 AM·2m read2 sources
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Australia hosts Italy at Perth’s HBF Park on Saturday in round three of the Southern Hemisphere series of the 2026 Nations Championship, with kick-off set for 6.10pm local time. The match marks Joe Schmidt’s final game as Wallabies head coach before Les Kiss takes over. Schmidt began his tenure in 2024 with three straight home victories but has recorded eight wins in 27 Tests overall.
Australia has lost six Tests in a row and 19 of its past 27 matches, including nine of the last 10. Italy enters 0-2 in the championship and has defeated Australia in their previous two meetings, in 2022 and November 2025 in Udine, though it has never beaten the Wallabies on Australian soil. 8 Lorenzo Cannone sidelined by injury.
The starting lineup is 15. Lorenzo Pani, 14. Louis Lynagh, 13. Juan Ignacio Brex, 12. Paolo Odogwu, 11. Monty Ioane, 10. Paolo Garbisi, 9. Alessandro Garbisi, 8. Ross Vintcent, 7. Michele Lamaro (c), 6.
Riccardo Favretto, 5. Federico Ruzza, 4. Giulio Marini, 3. Marco Riccioni, 2. Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1. Muhamed Hasa, with replacements Pablo Dimcheff, Danilo Fischetti, Ion Neculai, Andrea Zambonin, Alessandro Ortombina, Alessandro Fusco, Giacomo Da Re and Leonardo Marin.
Head coach Gonzalo Quesada is also banned for the match. Australia made three changes to its starting XV. Harry Potter and Brandon Paenga-Amosa replaced injured players Dylan Pietsch and Josh Nasser, while Fraser McReight dropped to the bench and Perth local Carlo Tizzano entered the back row.
Miles Amatosero makes his debut among the replacements. The lineup is 1. Angus Bell, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Josh Canham, 5. Jeremy Williams, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Carlo Tizzano, 8.
