Pierpaolo Pedroni

Italian rugby union player, rugby union referee and sports commentator

Pierpaolo Pedroni (20 May 1964, in Cremona – 23 June 2009, in Milan) was an Italian rugby union player, rugby union referee and sports commentator. He played as a lock and as a number eight.

Pedroni played most of his career at Amatori Rugby Milano, where he premiered in the first category at 1982/83 and would play until 1996/97. He spent a brief stint at SU Agen in the Autumn of 1997, returning soon to Amatori Rugby Milano, where he would stay until 1999/2000. During his time at Milano he won 4 Italian Championship titles, in 1990/91, 1991/92, 1994/95 and 1995/96, and the Cup of Italy, in 1994/95. He spent his final season at Crociati Parma Rugby FC in 1999/2000, finishing his career at 36 years old.

Pedroni had 25 caps for Italy, from 1989 to 1996, scoring 2 tries, 10 points on aggregate. He was called for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, playing in three games but without scoring.^[1]

He decided to take the referee course after finishing his player career and became habilitated as a referee in 2004, for the Series B. He was also a sports commentator for Eurosport and Italian television.

He died unexpectedly at 23 June 2009 from a heart attack, aged 45 years old.