Australia once again proved too strong for Italy, winning 34-12 to sweep their two-match Test series yesterday.
The revamped Wallabies, fielding eight changes from last week’s lineup, followed up their 31-8 victory in Canberra last week with another five tries. Australia have now won all their 12 internationals against the Italians, including six at home, while the Six-Nations wooden-spooners continue a losing streak that now stretches to 10 internationals.
Led by flyhalf Berrick Barnes and winger Lachlan Turner, the Wallabies reached halftime with a 20-6 lead, but needed another 30 minutes before rounding off the victory with two late converted tries.
Replacement Adam Ashley-Cooper, who was on the field three times, twice as a blood bin replacement for winger Peter Hynes, scored two tries, with hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, center Ryan Cross and Turner also crossing the line.
Teenage fullback James O’Connor, who scored a hat-trick of tries on his full international debut last week, had a quieter match and finished with two conversions and a penalty goal, with Barnes landing another conversion.
Wallabies’ coach Robbie Deans said it was a good learning experience for his second-string group.
“They had to work hard to create shape and we left them out there toiling away at it, and they’ll be much better for the experience,” Deans said.
All of Italy’s points came from four penalty goals from Australian-born fullback Luke McLean.
Italy, who were more competitive with former Australian rugby league international Craig Gower calling the shots at flyhalf, failed to score a try and have now only scored three tries in internationals this year.
Italy coach Nick Mallett said he was proud of his team’s performance on a dry pitch.
“It was a very tough game for us to play because it was a dry ball on a dry pitch, and Australia have great athletes and great continuity and areas of our game could have been badly exposed today,” Mallett said. “We were never going to win the game, but to stay in touch with 10 minutes to go, I was really proud of the guys.”
O’Connor had a subdued match after his spellbinding performance last week and began with a fumble of his first possession in the opening seconds.
Despite fielding eight personnel and three positional changes from the previous week, the Wallabies played with some continuity, right-winger Turner giving the final pass for two of the first-half tries.
It took Australia another 30 minutes before they added to their halftime score after McLean kicked two more penalties to edge Italy to within eight points. Quade Cooper put Turner over under the uprights in the 70th minute and then Ashley-Cooper finished off.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS