Australia 34 Italy 12: A remodelled Wallabies line-up comfortably accounted for Italy at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne in a display that was more pragmatic than dynamic.
Man-of-the-match Adam Ashley-Cooper, who started on the bench, finished with two tries, one in each half, after coming on initially when Peter Hynes was blood-binned, then as a replacement for James O’Connor at full-back.
Three first-half tries gave the Wallabies a 20-6 lead at the break and that was a fair reflection of the difference between the teams, but the hosts were held at bay for much of the second half before late tries to Lachie Turner and Ashley-Cooper.
Australia-born full-back Luke McLean landed four penalties for Italy for whom fellow Aussie and former NRL star Craig Gower was effective and creative in his second start at outhalf.
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