Ruggero Canocchi: Rugby Star Dies in Tragic Car Crash While Returning Home From Training
- Ruggero Canocchi, a 16-year-old scrum-half and winger, was involved in a serious car crash while travelling home from rugby training in central Italy
- The teenager was placed in intensive care and underwent two operations after his mini-car left the road and struck a tree near an L'Aquila sports centre
- The Italian Rugby Federation announced a minute's silence across all pitches in Italy over the weekend of 19-20 September 2026 in his honour
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A 16-year-old rugby player from L'Aquila has died following a car crash that occurred as he made his way home from a training session earlier this week.
Ruggero Canocchi was involved in the collision on a road near the Arcobaleno Sports Centre in the central Italian city. According to local Italian media, the mini-car he was driving veered off the road and struck a tree.
Italian traffic police have since opened an investigation into the circumstances of the crash.
Canocchi was rushed to hospital, where he was admitted to intensive care and underwent two separate operations. He passed away on Tuesday evening. He was a student at Ottavio Colecchi Secondary School and played as a scrum-half and winger for the L'Aquila Rugby Experience School, where he had won an Italian title at Under-16 level the previous year.
**Rugby Experience and FIR Pay Tribute**
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His club, Rugby Experience, shared photographs of Canocchi representing the club from his earliest years through to the present, accompanying the post with the message: "From the first to the last day... TOGETHER. Goodbye Ruggero, rest in peace."
The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) confirmed that stadiums across Italy will hold a minute's silence ahead of fixtures on the weekend of 19 and 20 September 2026. The tribute will also be observed before Italy Women's opening match against Japan in the 2026 WXV Global Series, scheduled for Saturday in Fontanafredda, in the province of Pordenone.
In a formal statement, the federation said: "FIR President Andrea Duodo and the Federal Council learned with deep sadness of the passing of Ruggero Canocchi, a young athlete from the Rugby Experience School L'Aquila. The President and the Federal Council extend their deepest condolences to his family, to the President of the Abruzzo Regional Committee, Marco Molina, to the President, managers, coaches, and teammates of the Rugby Experience School L'Aquila."
**Mayor of L'Aquila Speaks Out**
The mayor of L'Aquila, Pierluigi Biondi, also offered his condolences, telling Italian publication Il Pescara: "During these hours, our thoughts kept returning to that moment. We prayed and held each other with all our hearts, fearing, with every notification on our phones, that the news would arrive. Then, only a sense of emptiness and profound injustice at the loss of a young life."
Biondi added: "As a father and a friend, I embrace the family. I know nothing can console them, but I'm sure that the strong embrace of our entire community will reach them."
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Source: Briefly News
