Australia thrash Italy for first rugby Nations Championship win
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Italy's Alessandro Garbisi clears the ball under pressure from Australia's Josh Canham in the rugby union Nations Championship at HBF Park in Perth on July 18, 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
July 18 - Australia lock Josh Canham scored a hat-trick of tries in a rampant 57-10 victory over Italy at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday, for their first Nations Championship success and a fitting farewell to coach Joe Schmidt.
Australia ended a run of six successive defeats, including their first two matches in the new competition at home to Ireland and France over the last fortnight, with Tom Wright, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Len Ikitau, Billy Pollard and Ben Donaldson also scoring in a feast of nine tries.
Ryan Lonergan added five conversions and Donaldson one more while captain Michele Lamaro and Australia-born Monty Ioane scored tries for the Italians.
Australia raced to a convincing 38-5 half-time lead as they laid the platform for their first test win since beating Japan in Tokyo last October. REUTERS
