Wallabies: Schmidt benches McReight for final test, Tizzano starts in Perth

Herz — World Desk · 16 July 2026 at 08:47 · 30s summary · 3 min read

What we know

According to ABC News, Joe Schmidt, in his final match as Wallabies coach, starts Carlo Tizzano (Western Force) at the number 7 openside flanker position—a forward whose role is to break away quickly from the scrum to participate in open play. Fraser McReight, despite his performance the previous week, begins on the bench.

The decision is surprising given McReight's last match: two tries scored and named Australia's best player in the 42-26 loss to France in Nations Championship, an international rugby competition, in Brisbane.

Tizzano is playing his first test of 2026 in front of his Perth home crowd.

At fly-half, Declan Meredith is retained as starter. He made his international debut against France, replacing Ben Donaldson and Carter Gordon, both absent with calf injuries. Donaldson, recovered, joins the bench.

Jock Campbell, who filled in at fly-half in the previous test, is not included in the 23-man squad. Harry Potter takes the wing spot from Dylan Pietsch, who is ruled out with a calf injury.

Miles Amatosero, lock for the Waratahs, is named on the bench and is set for his first Wallabies selection.

Schmidt's stakes

Schmidt enters this test with a record of 11 wins in 30 tests and 9 losses in his last 10 matches. Another poor performance would make him the coach with the lowest win rate since professional rugby began in Australia.

Australia (8th globally) has not beaten Italy in their last six encounters.