Australia v Italy: Nations Championship rugby union international – live

Key events6m agoPreamblePreambleJonathan HowcroftHello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Italy in round three of the Southern Hemisphere series of the 2026 Nations Championship. Kick-off at Perth’s HBF Park is scheduled for 6.10pm local time (8.10pm AEST).These are dark days for Australian rugby. The Wallabies have lost six Tests in a row, and suffered 19 defeats in their past 27 matches. Last weekend they were torn apart in the second half by a rampant France, leaving captain Harry Wilson bereft and apologising to his side’s fans for letting them down.It was the kind of moment that would have led to calls for change – if change wasn’t already afoot. Tonight is the final Test in the two-year reign of Joe Schmidt.Between Bob Dwyer’s appointment in 1982 and the departure of Robbie Deans in 2013 each coach of the Wallabies boasted a win rate of at least 58%. Since then nobody has passed break even. Dave Rennie managed just 36%. His successor is currently on 39.Waiting in the wings, Les Kiss is on a hiding to nothing.But he will surely take over a team with a morale-boosting win under its belt. Like Australia, Italy are 0-2 in the Nations Championship, but their head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, is banned for the night, and nine changes have been made to the Azzurri starting XV with key players absent.Italy have never beaten the Wallabies on Australian soil, but they have won the past two clashes between the pair, most recently in November last year in Udine.I’ll be back with final team lists and more shortly. Please send me your emails and keep me company throughout the evening. The address is jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.Joe Schmidt leads the Wallabies for one final time in Perth. Photograph: Nations Championship/Getty Images