Wallabies lock Josh Canham has joked his hat-trick against Italy was nothing more than a three-metre effort, but he is dead serious about staying in the gold jersey for a long time to come.
Canham became the first Wallabies lock in Test history to score a hat-trick when he bulldozed his way over from close range three times in Saturday night's 57-10 thumping of Italy in Perth.
Remarkably, it was just the fifth Test of Canham's career, and he couldn't believe his luck to be the one delivering a hat-trick.
"It's pretty cool, but I definitely wouldn't be scoring any of those tries without the forward pack," Canham said.
"I was lucky to get on the end of some good pick-and-go's, and there was a hole there a few times.
"Three metres - three tries, so very lucky there."
Canham scored in the fourth and 27th minutes to help build a 38-5 halftime lead, before adding the icing on the cake with a third try in the 52nd minute.
He said that after scoring two tries he "wasn't really thinking about" the hat-trick, rather he was "just thinking about my next job".
But when told he'd been the first Wallaby lock to score three tries in a match, he was pleasantly surprised.
Canham made his Wallabies debut against Argentina in the 2024 Rugby Championship, but it has been in the current Nations Championship that the 25-year-old has been given a solid opportunity.
The 202cm lock was handed starts against Ireland, France and Italy, and he now has four tries to show from his five Test appearances.
Although Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt ended with a dismal 12-19 win-loss record, he at least created more depth by blooding players like Canham.
Thanks for everything, Joe 🫡 pic.twitter.com/kkIzmhgSp1
— Wallabies (@wallabies) July 19, 2026
"I've been in and around the squad for quite a while now, even though I haven't been playing (up until recently)," Canham said.
"So I know the system pretty well, and I've been itching at a chance to wear the jersey.
"Now I've got it. I want to do everything I can to stay in it."
Canham praised Schmidt for helping grow him as a player.
"His rugby knowledge is crazy, and the amount of footage he would watch is insane," Canham said.
"Something that everyone's noticed is you go into a meeting, and you could mention anything from any game of rugby anywhere, and he'll know exactly what you're talking about, and he'll talk about the phase after that."
Schmidt's exit means the Les Kiss era has officially begun, with his first match in charge to be on enemy territory against Japan on August 8.
