Carlo Tizzano will carry a piece of Italy with him this weekend as he tries to stake a claim for the valuable Wallabies number seven jersey.
Tizzano was named for a rare start on Saturday against Italy in front of his home fans at HBF Park, replacing standout Fraser McReight.
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McReight will come off the bench after knee soreness limited his involvement this week, paving the way for Tizzano to make his sixth start in gold.
The two have been head-to-head ever since the juniors, with McReight edging in front during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, before his finger injury paved the way for Tizzano to debut in 2024.
The Queenslander has been one of the Wallabies' best during the Nations Championship, with WA product Tizzano relishing his chance to respond ahead of Les Kiss taking over as coach.
"Fraser and I have been competing with each other since we were 18-19, and it's awesome," he said to reporters.
"I think at this level you want people you can compete with because you've just got to wake up and it's a good reason to wake up, besides your family and your personal endeavours, but to have someone who's breathing down your neck and vice versa is a really cool opportunity and it's a good place to be.
"I think that's the case for all our positions in this squad. We have a really competitive squad and the boys prep each other really well. It's awesome to be a part of it."
Tizzano will have plenty of personal motivation, embracing his Italian heritage throughout his Rugby career as he weighed up a move earlier in his career.
"I'd always kind of been in contact with them. In 2017 after I made the Australian Schoolboys and didn't end up playing, I had an opportunity to go over and do a couple of weeks with Benneton and play with the Italian U18s," Tizzano told rugby.com.au in 2025
"So I had that opportunity and didn't take that up but then I really wanted to. It would've been such a cool experience, moving across to the other side of the world for a couple of weeks and getting experience there but it didn't come to life.
"Then in 2021 there was an opportunity to play in some of the Autumn Test matches for Italy but contractually it wasn't going to work out with the Waratahs and it would've made me ineligible (for Australia).
"To be honest, I wasn't ready for international rugby. I was 21 and looking back now, I was nowhere near ready. A couple of times there was a chance to play for Emerging Italy too but they would've counted as a cap too."
His brother, Cristiano, took up the option and is coming through the ranks of the Italian system, debuting for Benetton earlier in the year.
He also featured for Italy A, with the pair eager to come up against each other.
"[Cristano] is going really well. I'm really proud of him, being able to get a debut for Benetton last two games of the year. The Italian side is a tough team to crack," Tizzano notes.
Even in gold, Tizzano's roots stay closely bound, looking to do both sides of his family proud on Saturday.
"It's a really special game. I wear my Italian budgies because that's where my family are from, but being born here, representing Australia is an honour, and I'm really excited to do it this weekend," he said.
