Ben Mowen says the pain of the disastrous Wallabies season is necessary if the team is to transform itself into Rugby World Cup 2015 champions, adamant that Ewen McKenzie is taking the right steps towards effecting a 180-degree turnaround.

Australia play Italy at Stadio Olimpico in Turin on Saturday confident of victory, and thus avoiding a record-breaking ninth defeat. They have won just three of 11 Tests to date in 2013, a record that compares ill with their worst year of the professional era, 2005, when Eddie Jones was sacked after overseeing a 5-8 record - including seven losses from his last eight Tests.

A maiden defeat by the Azzurri at Stadio Olympico would be disastrous for McKenzie's team and a cash-strapped Australian Rugby Union aiming to reinvigorate the struggling code; a loss could also see Australia slump to as low as No.7 on the International Rugby Board rankings. But Mowen and coach McKenzie believe that reward will emerge through the pain.

"We have to be sitting here in two years holding the World Cup up, that's just exactly where we have to be," Mowen said. "As hard as it is to see at this point, I see a lot of really good building blocks from where we are. I know that's a hard thing for some people to see at this stage, but they're definitely there. Once you get those things in place, and a little bit of belief comes with results, the rest happens really quickly."

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Mowen can speak from experience in his two seasons at the Brumbies, as the ACT franchise finished third-last in 2011 before Jake White took them to the Super Rugby final this year. McKenzie orchestrated an even better reversal of fortunes in his first two years at Queensland, guiding the Reds to the 2011 crown.

The new Wallabies coach, who has enjoyed just two wins from first eight Tests since he replaced Robbie Deans, is making drastic changes to get results. He's dumped James Horwill as captain, Will Genia as vice-captain, benched both Genia and Quade Cooper at different times, and has now made Mowen and five-eighth Cooper his leaders.

"You never feel settled, and that's good because it's keeping everyone on their toes," Mowen said.

"He's obviously at the start of his tenure, and I'm sure he's got a big end-goal in mind. I've got no doubt he's testing a few guys' character, which is important for the group and development of the side. He needs to be proactive and start shaking the tree and see what comes of it. I've got no dramas there.

"We're all here for the same reason: we want a result for Australia. If he believes creating that competition for every spot, including the captaincy, brings the best out of us, until we start getting the results I totally agree."