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Wallabies must be be aware of the elephant in the Padua room

13th November, 2018
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13th November, 2018
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There would have been concern in Wallabies camp when penalty-happy French referee Pascal Gauzere was appointed to the Stadio Euganeo clash with Italy this weekend.

He controlled the June series decider against Ireland in front of a record Allianz crowd of 44,085 by pinging the Wallabies in goal-kicking range for Johnny Sexton to land five to Bernard Foley’s three.

It was also the game Gauzere yellow-carded Israel Folau for upending Peter O’Mahony in an aerial clash that saw the Irish skipper taken from the field in a medicab with a concussion.

Gauzere gave so many bewildering decisions that Wallabies coach Michael Cheika invited him to the post-match media conference, which the Frenchman obviously refused.

The referee could well be the elephant in the room in Padua against the worst-performed Tier 1 country in the world.

There are ten in that elite group – New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, Ireland, France, Wales, Argentina, Scotland, with Italy just making up the numbers.

The All Blacks are the best-performed in history with a 77.51 per cent winning record, well ahead of South Africa’s 62.09 per cent.

England sits third, with 54.90 per cent, then France at 53.79, Wales at 52.03, Argentina with 51.93, Wallabies at 50.72, Ireland at 44.62, Scotland at 42.90, and Italy dragging the chain with 37.32.

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Italy was promoted to the Six-Nations in 2000, where they have been the tournament’s easy beats. In 19 tournaments, they won the wooden spoon 13 times – well ahead of Scotland’s four, and one each for Wales and France.

Italy have won only 12 Six Nations games in 95 matches – seven against Scotland, twice against Wales plus a draw, twice against France, and once against Ireland – but never beaten England.

Adam Coleman

(Photo by Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)

Italy has never beaten the Wallabies in 17 internationals, nor the All Blacks in 13, but they have beaten South Africa once in 14.

For the record, in those 17 clashes, the Wallabies have scored 605 points to Italy’s 244 – a deficit of 361, or an average victory margin of 21 points.

Those stats will amount to nothing if Australia’s renowned ill-discipline gives Gauzere the excuse to blow the pea out of his whistle, and blow the Wallabies off the park in front of a parochial crowd.

It’s an elephant in the room situation alright, and Rugby Australia will have no option but to sack the entire coaching staff immediately if there’s a shock loss.

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