Italy stun Wallabies with Australian influence to the fore

Louis Lynagh of Italy  (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)

Italy upset Australia with a come-from-behind 26-19 victory on Saturday with the son of a Wallaby great scoring one try and an Australian-born winger the other to snatch a famous victory for the hosts.

Louis Lynagh, born in Italy when his father Michael played for Treviso, and Melbourne-born Monty Ioane, proved Italy’s heroes as they won for only the second time in 20 tests against the Wallabies.

Australia scored three tries without reply in the opening 51 minutes at the Stadio Fruili before a late surge from the Italians turned the test on its head, with the 100% kicking return from flyhalf Paolo Garbisi proving the difference.

The result continued a miserable year for Australia who were beaten by England at Twickenham last week and have won five of 13 tests this year.

Reuters