Australia's 57-10 victory over Italy in the Nations Championship was overshadowed by a bizarre incident in which Italian prop Marco Riccioni was sent off after he had already been substituted. The red card was issued during a touchline brawl in the 66th minute, 12 minutes after Riccioni had been replaced.
How the brawl unfolded
The altercation began when Australia debutant Massimo Amatosero dragged Italian prop Danilo Fischetti away from the touchline and towards the Italian bench. Other players piled in, and the scuffle spilled over onto the white plastic chairs used by the Italian replacements. Riccioni, now wearing a warm-up jacket, appeared to strike Amatosero.
Referee Christophe Ridley, after consulting with his officials, showed Riccioni a straight red card. "We then have a non-participating player who decided to run in and get involved," Ridley explained. "For that reason, he will be sent to the stands with a red card."
Match context and aftermath
The dismissal had little impact on the result, as Australia had already secured a commanding lead. The Wallabies ran in nine tries, with lock Josh Canham scoring a hat-trick – the first second-row to do so for Australia. Props Angus Bell and Brandon Paenga-Amosa, centre Len Ikitau, fullback Tom Wright, reserve hooker Billy Pollard, and Ben Donaldson also crossed for tries.
Italy were already without head coach Gonzalo Quesada due to a one-match ban for abusing a match official. Captain Michele Lamaro expressed his disappointment: "Gutted. Very disappointed with the result and performance we put in and nothing more, honestly. You have to face yourself, look in the mirror and really think about your stuff."
Australia captain Harry Wilson praised his team's discipline: "We were clinical, we had a lot of positive moments in a row and our discipline’s improved. (After Italy scored to begin the second half) we just said, ‘This isn’t happening again’. We’ve had two weeks of pain, the boys said, ‘that’s enough’ and went out and dominated after that."
Potential ban for Riccioni
World Rugby is likely to review the incident and may hand Riccioni a ban in the coming days, as noted by ITV commentator Johnie Hammond: "This will be looked at in the week."
