Wallabies leadership call: Brumbies leader Allan Ala'alatoa to be Australia's new Test captain

Ala'alatoa will become the 85^th player to captain Australia, with ACT Brumbies teammate James Slipper set to be rested to manage his game time on a five-Test spring tour.

It will be a massive moment for Ala'alatoa, who has been the Brumbies' leader for the past three seasons after stepping up to replace Christian Lealiifano.

The 28-year-old has established himself as a trusted voice and a reliable prop since making his Wallabies debut in 2016.

He will jump straight back into the starting XV after missing the Test against France because of concussion, forcing coach Dave Rennie to shift Taniela Tupou to the bench.

The Wallabies are set to experiment with their team this week, with Rennie pledging to give players an opportunity to prove their World Cup credentials.

It's unclear, however, if Noah Lolesio will get a crack in the flyhalf role after Bernard Foley started in the first two Tests of the tour, while Nic White will go back to the bench or out of the game-day squad to make way for Jake Gordon to start in the No. 9 role.

Ala'alatoa is just the third captain the Wallabies have used since 2015, with Slipper taking the reins this year after Michael Hooper stepped down from the role.

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Slipper has powered through a massive workload during the Test season, but Rennie wants to make sure the veteran is fit and firing for the last two matches of the European trip.

The Wallabies have won the past 18 Tests against Italy, but are still adamant the Florence showdown is a danger game.

The Australians are coming off a spirited one-point loss to Six Nations champions France but too often they backed up their best performance with their worst.

They haven't won more than one Test on a European tour since 2016. The Wallabies have never lost to world No.12 Italy, who they last played in 2018, but winger Tom Wright said they needed to make sure they approached the match with the same intent as they did against the heavyweight French.

"The main messaging is around that we respect Italy and keep out the outside noise ... around what could be perceived as an easy game for us on this tour, or the easiest," Wright said.

"It's about making sure that we as a squad front up this week - it's very easy to get up when you're playing France or Ireland, the top two teams in the world, so we need to make sure we put the same emphasis on playing well and preparing the same way against Italy."

Coach Dave Rennie will name his team on Thursday with many Wallabies fans eager to see Jock Campbell, who made his starting debut against France in Paris, get another start.

Wright admitted the Wallabies fullback role had been a "merry-go-round" with no player able to nail the spot ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup in France.

He felt Reds star Campbell, a late Test bloomer at 27, brought a lot of great qualities to the position. "It's been well-publicised around how underrated he's (Campbell) been and he's waited for his opportunity for a really long time," Wright said.

"To see him front up on one of biggest stages in the world, he didn't shy away from the occasion, executing our game plan. There's been a merry-go-round of guys go through there [fullback], me included, and Jock is cool, calm and collected and extremely well liked by the group. You saw in his performance, not a lot rattles him."

Campbell and Wright both fell off tackles on the French winger Damien Penaud as he scored the match-winning try.

Wright said he had "owned" the defensive error while the team review revealed plenty of positives to take from the Paris match.

"It sucked for the group, sucked for me and Jock but I've just got to own that moment," Wright said.

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