Italian full-back Chris Burton, one of two new caps alongside centre Enrico Patrizio, opened the scoring from a penalty early in the match.

However, the Azzurri could not muster another score until just before half-time when Pratichetti went over in the left corner.

A rallying pep talk from coach Pierre Berbizier saw them come out a different side and inside four minutes Pratichetti had crossed twice to complete his hat-trick with Burton converting both from a tight angle.

A youthful Uruguay, disappointed not to have made this year’s World Cup finals, had lock Juan Alzueta sent to the sin bin on 55 minutes but some courageous defending kept the Italian assaults at bay.

They took the every opportunity to attack the Italians and eventually managed to score a well deserved consolation try on 77 minutes through fullback Matias Arocena.

Italy still had time to add a gloss to the scoreline as replacement prop Matias Aguero touched down with Burton adding the extras to cap a decent debut display.