Joe Schmidt has officially bowed out as Wallabies coach after three years at the helm and he's gone out on a high after Australia finally put together a full 80-minute performance to put a sloppy Italy side to the sword in front of a sold-out crowd in Perth.
It was close to the perfect performance from the Wallabies as they raced out to a 19-point lead within the opening 12 minutes with Josh Canham, Tom Wright and Brandon Paenga-Amosa all crossing the whitewash. By halftime it was 36-5 and all but sewn up with the backline cutting ribbons and the forward pack bulldozing their way to the tryline.
Once again, their set-piece was solid, their lineout showing no signs of the issues that had plagued them at the end of last year with Paenga-Amosa direct with his throws, while Canham and Jeremy Williams were on song in the air. Despite one or two hiccups - mostly in the second half - the lineout was the platform that sent the Wallabies over the try line over and over again.
The Wallabies needed just four minutes to open the scoring, quickly working their way into Italy's territory off the back of an early Azzurri penalty before they used their rolling maul to aplomb, marching 20 metres downfield and into the Azzurri 22. With Italy marching backwards and handing out repeated penalty advantages, Canham would get the rewards after 17 phases battering Italy's line.
Entering the match on a six-game losing streak, nine losses out of their last 10 Tests and bidding farewell to Schmidt and assistant Laurie Fisher, the Wallabies took to the field with plenty to play for and there was certainly plenty of fire and brimstone in their actions.
Their carries were big as their forwards played like battering rams. Rob Valetini, Carlo Tizzano and Jeremy Williams repeatedly smashing into the defence as they forced the Azzurri line to first bend then break on multiple occasions. In just 58 minutes, Williams carried nine times for 54 metres, bettered only by Harry Potter with 150m carried, who, on his return to the gold, was spotted everywhere across the park; contesting and winning the aerial battle, hot skipping his way through the defence, and constantly in support.
Of the nine tries scored, it was incredible Potter didn't find his own name on the score sheet for the outstanding effort he put into his performance. His defence was solid too, coming within inches of holding Italy flanker Michele Lamaro up over the tryline for the side's only points in the first half.
Their defence was just as hammering, multiple times Paenga-Amose (nine tackles), Valtini (12) and Tizzano (15) monstered their opposition as they picked up and pushed the Azzurri backwards, while Tizzano in his return to Test rugby was huge over the ball winning several jackals and penalties.
"It's really pleasing," Wallabies captain Harry Wilson said of the win. "It's obviously been a tough couple of weeks with the results we've had, and we know how close we've been.
"Joe's been with us for two years and the sacrifices he's made for us - he was meant to be done about 12 months ago, but one thing about Joe is he cares about Australian rugby, he cares about every player in this team, and we've been gutted we couldn't get the results for him over the past two weeks.
"That's probably why you saw a team that was so relentless tonight. We wanted to send him off that way and I'm so, so happy for us, happy for him that we could do that and I hope now we can springboard onto bigger and better things from this too."
The early rampage wouldn't slow down. After a mental slip allowed Italy in for their first points in the 20th minute, the Wallabies hit back almost immediately with Canham burrowing his way once again over the line. This time it was off the back of hard carrying from the backline who showed patience that had been missing in previous Tests, with Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii taking on the defence and holding onto the ball in contact following half breaks.
With two more through Bell and Ikitau before the break the Wallabies were a machine that didn't look like stopping, as they were led around the park with control through Ryan Lonergan and Declan Meredith. For Lonergan his kicking game and heads-up play was astute in perhaps his best game for the Wallabies to date, while Meredith produced a fine performance to build on in just his second Test appearance.
"I just feel like it's a culmination of a bit of frustration that we didn't finish the last two weeks off," Schmidt said after the win. "We've actually put some really good patches of play together and there was a real conviction from the players to make sure they did finish it off this week. The way they built the first half, just gave them the freedom that they could continue to play.
"We didn't get everything right; there was a couple of times we forced the pass and Lenny got caught deep in our own 22 and it got turned over and it gave them a chance to really get some access.
"But at the moment, I'm just really delighted with the effort from the players, some of the accuracy, I thought we had a real steel about us today, and I'm just relieved and retired."
While the nine-tries-to-two win will have plenty of people buzzing about the 'return of the Wallabies' it can't be ignored there still remains plenty to work on.
Once again, the Wallabies were slow out of the blocks in the second half, opening the door for an Azzurri try through Monty Ioane in the opening minute, while their scrum failed to find the ascendancy they'd previously enjoyed over the last two weeks with Bell penalised twice against the feed. The introduction of bench players brought about plenty of teething issues with Pollard pinged twice at the lineout, while some sloppy handling led to 13 turnovers.
"I've loved the rise in the set piece in recent weeks. I feel like we get pressure on the opposition set piece," Schmidt said. "I was disappointed with the scrum tonight in terms of, not our attitude and commitment to it, but there was a big lean, it was very hard to get our space to be able to engage, and so the scrums ended up being really messy, but I feel it's an area that we're really getting back to being strong at."
The victory should also be put into perspective. Despite the Wallabies' last two losses to the Azzurri, the No. 8 ranked Australia sit two places higher than Italy on the World Rankings, and while the Wallabies have been attempting a rebuild, Italy face their own set of issues.
Following their wins over Scotland and England they've fallen into their own hole, with a capitulation to Wales to close out their Six Nations campaign, a shock loss to Japan to open their Nations Championship and a belting by the All Blacks a week ago.
But the fact the Wallabies pushed out to a huge lead in the first half and continued the momentum in the second despite some wobbles should be celebrated. They played with style and flair, their set-piece continues to be a solid platform to work off, and the foundations within the group are being laid. They also walk away from the night with their largest scoreline on home soil in a decade and the highest score in Schmidt's three-year tenure.
"The fundamentals he's taught us," Wilson said of Schmidt's legacy on the group. "He's just made rugby a lot simpler for us, just showed us the way we prepare is the way we're probably going to play and just the basics of your rugby game, he's really taught us that. And when we do that well, how well we can play, we've seen it over the last three games.
"Obviously, Les will have his new ideas and stuff, but no doubt they're very similar to Joe's and hopefully there's some success in the future."
Officially hanging up his coaching whistle at midnight Perth time, Schmidt fronted the media one last time as Wallabies coach, this time with a rare smile on his face as he counted down to his retirement.
"Midnight tonight. I'm going to try and celebrate until midnight and then I might celebrate as a retired gentleman for a couple more hours.
"I've massively enjoyed the group, they're a great group of young men and there are some very good footy players amongst them and there are some footy players who are getting better, and I think we've some evidence of that.
"I remember back saying 'no' four times and thinking, 'how am I going to coach Australia?' But the people make the difference. I've really enjoyed the people. I've enjoyed the way they've tried to improve themselves as well. They've been open to ideas.
"I've learned a lot, even in this job. It's been frustrating at times, but it's been incredibly invigorating. I love the people I work with, and so that's made it easier."
