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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Simon Thomas

Italy beat Australia for first time to stun the rugby world amid wild scenes of joy

Italy have pulled off a huge shock by claiming their first ever victory over Australia, beating Wales' final autumn opponents 28-27 amid a thrilling finale in Florence.

It looked as though they were going to suffer last-gasp heartbreak when Wallaby replacement lock Cadeyrn Neville powered over in stoppage time to cut the deficit to a point.

But debutant sub Ben Donaldson sent his conversion attempt across the face of the posts to signal scenes of wild celebration amid the Azzurri players and the home fans.

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Having lost the first 17 matches between the two countries, Italy have now finally claimed the prize scalp of the men from Down Under and it was a thoroughly deserved triumph.

Toulouse full-back Ange Capuozzo - the Six Nations scourge of Wales in Cardiff back in March - was the star of the show, scoring two cracking tries.

For his first, he dummied and cut through to the line following some great hands from the Italian backs, adding to wing Pierre Bruno's earlier touchdown to establish a 17-8 half time lead. Then, after the break, he was in again courtesy of more slick handling and a sharp finish.

Australia scored tries through wing Tom Wright, flanker Fraser McReight and prop Tom Roberston as the game swung back and fore, ahead of Neville's late touchdown and the dramatic conclusion.

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