Australia recovered from the painful loss last weekend in England with a less-than-emphatic 32-14 victory over Italy on Saturday, dominating the outside by two tries to one.

The end Drew Mitchell, who later lost his pants in a tackle, hung on the line for the first attempt in nine minutes of sustained pressure, while the Wallaby Rocky Elsom captain landed right at the end.

Berrick Barnes was nearly flawless with his place kicking, having been introduced into the side of one of the five changes from the 35-18 defeat at Twickenham.

The visitors were quick on the ball over and found the gaps, but could not gain the early advantage thanks to the great Italian defense.

Italy, Nick Mallett, beaten by Argentina in its first test in November last Saturday, were terrible, with management on a dry day and almost anywhere near the try line in the first half but dominated the scrum with their powerful forwards.