Rugby Australia has found the perfect ambassador to build excitement for Italy's long-awaited return Down Under. Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano, born in Australia to Italian parents, is helping mark the 100-day countdown to the July 18 clash in Perth, a key fixture in the sport's groundbreaking new Nations Championship.

This match marks Italy's first appearance on Australian soil since 2017 and is part of the inaugural Nations Championship, a thrilling new annual competition pitting six top Southern Hemisphere nations against six from the North, culminating in a finals weekend in London this November.

For Tizzano, a Western Force player in Super Rugby, the fixture holds deep personal significance. He turned down past approaches from Italy, including one from former coach Conor O’Shea in 2018, to pursue his Wallabies dream, making his test debut against South Africa in 2024. "Lucky I didn’t pull the trigger," Tizzano reflected, a decision that now sees him preparing to face the Azzurri.

The Wallabies will be wary, as Italy arrives with growing confidence. The Azzurri's historic 26-19 victory over Australia last November in Udine—powered by tries from players with Australian heritage, Louis Lynagh and Monty Ioane—proved their first-ever win against the Wallabies in 2022 was no fluke. Fresh off a landmark Six Nations victory over England in March, Italy is no longer a pushover, setting the stage for a compelling and emotionally charged battle in Perth.