Greg Growden at Canberra Stadium | June 14, 2009
Wallabies 31 Italy 8

IT WAS the starting debut any player dreams off - a hat-trick of tries, a convincing all-round performance, the man of the match award and a critical role in a dominant Test triumph.

James O'Connor, the 18-year-old Australian rugby phenomenon, enjoyed all that and more when he experienced a near-perfect game during the Wallabies' 31-8 triumph over Italy in the first Test at Canberra Stadium last night.

It might have been freezing at the ground but O'Connor warmed everyone up when he excelled at fullback, providing good support to be in the right place for two of his tries and showing off his abundant self-confidence and brute strength when scoring his third in the second half.

O'Connor explained he was just lucky "to be in the right place at the right time".

"I'm really stoked, because that was such an awesome experience," O'Connor said.

"It was great working off Matt [Giteau], because he always gives me a few gift tries, and I ended up with some good opportunistic tries. I tried to stay relaxed out there, and the senior guys helped me in keeping my focus."

Italy irritated the Wallabies for long stretches but the Wallabies succeeded through the resourcefulness of their attack, with five-eighth Matt Giteau and centres Berrick Barnes and Stirling Mortlock all excelling.

O'Connor's first Test in the starting line-up could not have been more spectacular. After just three minutes, the teenager was over the line, the recipient of a pass from unselfish teammate Lachie Turner, who put him away for the first try of the Test.

With the Wallabies' midfield kicking on song from the outset, the Italians soon found themselves within the shadow of their own tryline.

The first lineout of the game saw the Italian defence in disarray, when quick passes immediately gave the Wallabies the advantage of a two-man overlap.

Turner had space in the middle of the field, and could have easily scored, but instead passed off to O'Connor, who had no Italian defender within sight.

Then later in the half, O'Connor was in the perfect spot to support Matt Giteau, who sucked in several Italian defenders by showing the ball and then veering across field.

Like Turner, Giteau could have also scored, but O'Connor was again in the vicinity to pick up the jewels - and his second try.

Then luck went Giteau's way when in the 32nd minute a Barnes pass hit his leg, and cannoned off towards the Italy goalposts.

Giteau won the chase, regathered and scored to give the Wallabies a 17-point headstart.

As against the Barbarians the previous weekend, the Wallabies' midfield was again extremely comfortable with each other, playing the angles well and keeping mistakes to a minimum.

Giteau's kicking was again outstanding, seeing numerous lineouts set right on the Italy line.

Australia's quality of passing was considerably higher than Italy's, with their new five-eighth Craig Gower not helped in his Test debut by the appalling service from his halfback Pabio Canavosio, who was replaced before the break.

His wild passing from the scrumbase clearly exasperated Gower, who was at least able to compensate with excellent defence close in to the ruck and several clearing kicks.

Gower also knew how to bluff the Wallabies, opting to run in the first attack of the second half when he veered wide.

It had the desired effect of forcing several Wallabies defenders to stop in their tracks.

He then threw a smart inside flick pass to winger Kaine Robertson, who defied feeble Australian tackles to score.

That moment of embarrassment certainly shook the Wallabies out of their mid-match lull with captain Mortlock deciding to show the rest what should be done. Just six minutes later, Mortlock received the ball about 20 metres out, with the Italians believing that he would shuffle it out wide.

Instead Mortlock ran back in towards the forwards, saw a considerably wide open path in front of him and bounded his way through for a courageous try that gave the Wallabies a 24-8 leeway.

Then O'Connor completed the hat-trick in the 59th minute when he took the Italian defence head-on, after big midfield bursts by Mortlock and hooker Stephen Moore, breaking through several tackles to score.

AUSTRALIA 31 (James O'Connor 3, Matt Giteau, Stirling Mortlock tries Giteau 3 cons) bt ITALY 8 (Kaine Robertson try Luke McLean pen) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Romain Poite (FRA). Crowd: 22,468.

http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...06.html?page=2