Italy well worth their win over Wallabies - with a little help from the man upstairs

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Italy well worth their win over Wallabies - with a little help from the man upstairs

Peter FitzSimons Columnist and author November 9, 2025 — 8.03am Advertisement

Back in the day, Italy could expect to win a Test match against front-line international rugby sides, only ad ogni morte di papa , every time the pope died.

Not any more.

The Six Nations is no longer the Five Nations + One Also Ran. For in the last decade and a bitty, Italy has proved itself more than capable of regularly beating the likes of Wales and Scotland, and have beaten both France and Ireland – not to mention Australia, just three years ago.

On their day, and most particularly in recent times, they can play in a manner to make one think that the one Pope who played