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The Scottish Rugby Union has pulled off a major coup by recruiting David Nucifora, who masterminded Ireland’s rise to the top of the world game, as its performance director.
Nucifora is expected to join the SRU in a consultancy role, although he has already accepted a similar consultancy role with the Australian Rugby Union.
The 62-year-old will have a say in the overhaul of the Scottish game as de facto performance director, filling the vacancy left after the departure in June of Jim Mallinder, who held the same role at Northampton Saints.
Official confirmation of Nucifora’s appointment is expected on Tuesday, with the former Wallaby hooker and ACT Brumbies and Auckland Blues head coach set to take up the role in October on a two-year contract.
He left his IRFU post this summer after 10 years, during which Ireland won four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, and achieved a series of firsts with wins over New Zealand, a test in South Africa, a test series in New Zealand, three Under-20 Grand Slams. Ireland’s men’s and women’s sevens teams also qualified for the Paris Olympics this summer.
The fact he is working with one of Ireland’s Six Nations rivals is likely to be a cause for concern for his former employers in Dublin given his extensive knowledge of the Irish system, while the SRU will be hoping he can have a similar impact in transforming the Scottish game.
With Scotland also due to play Australia in November, his role as a consultant to two rival federations is likely to raise further questions. He is also expected to re-engage with former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt to overhaul the game in Australia, a key role given the visit of the British and Irish Lions next summer.
Nucifora will also face a major challenge with Scotland, given their struggles on the international stage at age-group level and the limitations of effectively selecting a national team from two professional-only club sides.
But it appears he will be allowed to have a major influence on strategic planning, not just for the national team but also recruitment for Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as coach development.
The SRU will be hoping he can replicate the success he generated after arriving in Ireland in 2014, when he effectively handed over control of the professional game and transformed it by designing a central model that improved the pathway to the national team while allowing the provinces to retain their unique identities and rivalries.
While the provinces retained their autonomy, the IRFU invested centrally in staff to ensure centralised monitoring of expert input in training, strength and conditioning, analysis, nutrition and education.
He had full oversight of all contracts – both players and coaches – which ensured that the recruitment of overseas players did not impact on the development of qualified Irish players and also helped to keep the best local talent in Ireland and formed a close working relationship with Irish head coach Andy Farrell, whilst ensuring that the Irish provinces were more aligned with the national team.
