Brisbane - Italy coach Conor O'Shea made three changes on Thursday for this weekend's Test against Australia in Brisbane.
O'Shea brought in scrumhalf Tito Tebaldi to the starting side for the first time in three years, with backrower Andries Van Schalkwyk at No 8 and Marco Lazzaroni in line for a debut off the bench for Saturday's international.
The changes follow Italy's last-gasp 22-19 loss to Fiji in Suva last weekend.
Irishman O'Shea said with injuries to several experienced players, including Australian-born Luke McLean, Italy has come to Australia with a young squad, with an average age of 25.
O'Shea's side pushed England in the Six Nations before going down 36-15 at Twickenham in February.
"We came so close - we should've beaten Fiji on the balance looking back on the game but we know this is a step-up in class," O'Shea said.
"We've a lot of changes to make, we're on a huge growth curve in Italian rugby.
"Changes that should've been made years ago, we're making now with group of young players who are learning a lot, getting better."
Teams:
Australia
15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio
Substitutes: To be announced on Friday.
Italy
15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Andries van Schalkwyk, 7 Maxime Mbanda, 6 Francesco Minto (captain), 5 Dean Budd, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Substitutes: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Carlo Cane, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti