IRFU to name Nucifora as Performance Director

c.b.

Irish Independent - Nucifora article

Seems the IRFU are at last to name the performance director as David Nucifora.

Key points seem to be:

- Played at hooker for the Aussies (2 caps).

- Named Australian coach of the year 2002,2003 and 2004.

- Worked alongside Schmidt at the Blues, although was ultimately unsuccessful when appointed as head coach.

- General Manager of the ARU high performance unit 2009 - 2012.

Aside from that, I know nothing really about him. Superficially he seems to fit the bill, with plenty of experience in the performance director role. Anyone else care to give him a more in depth reference?

.ak

What does a performance director do exactly?

Larbre34

What Mr Wigglesworth is supposed to have been doing all these year I guess. What that is exactly is anyones guess. In the case of the RFU all its seems to have done is create conflict between Rob Andrew and a succession of England head coaches. Sounds to me like with are a getting a 'rugby man' as director of rugby performance, just as 'Mr Rugby' has taken over the senior national team. Seems to me the international windows are so short, that Joe Schmidt and Mick Kearney could spend the rest of their time strategising and directing performance at all levels of the green jersey wearing sides as well as reviewing the provinces.

former legend

.ak wrote: »

What does a performance director do exactly?

http://www.irishrugby.ie/irfu/about/29723.php

Seems to be mainly about making sure the provinces and national side are all singing off the same hymn sheet when it comes to training, developing youngsters etc.

I suppose there has to be some element of making sure that the national and provincial coaches are up to scratch too, that if results are going against us that someone can step in and offer advice.

evil_seed

I'm all for having the national and provincial teams singing off the same him sheet. But the provinces are too short sighted and are more concerned with their own set ups and winning in the now. It'll never work here compared to say New Zealand, where all the S15 teams management and coaches meet with the National team management and are given a protocol to follow on how to develop players and how to play. This works their because the all blacks are the law

fitz

evil_seed wrote: »

I'm all for having the national and provincial teams singing off the same him sheet. But the provinces are too short sighted and are more concerned with their own set ups and winning in the now. It'll never work here compared to say New Zealand, where all the S15 teams management and coaches meet with the National team management and are given a protocol to follow on how to develop players and how to play. This works their because the all blacks are the law

Nothing to stop a version of the same being brought in here.
If Schmidt gives a list of things that need to improve, Nucifora could be the man in a position to mandate that those things are worked on in the provinces. You don't have to get all the provinces to play the same way to get a mandated focus on improvement in areas identified as necessary by the national coach.

I'd love to see a team of shared skills coaches who work with all the provinces on specific areas...scrum coach, kicking, hire Jerry Flannery as a line-out throwing coach. Have these people rotate around the provinces analysing players technique in their areas of competence, giving them coaching on how to improve, and monitoring progress.

c.b.

fitz wrote: »

Nothing to stop a version of the same being brought in here.
If Schmidt gives a list of things that need to improve, Nucifora could be the man in a position to mandate that those things are worked on in the provinces. You don't have to get all the provinces to play the same way to get a mandated focus on improvement in areas identified as necessary by the national coach.

I'd love to see a team of shared skills coaches who work with all the provinces on specific areas...scrum coach, kicking, hire Jerry Flannery as a line-out throwing coach. Have these people rotate around the provinces analysing players technique in their areas of competence, giving them coaching on how to improve, and monitoring progress.

As well as the above, I expect him to be responsible for opening pathways for players to progress, so for instance someone like Macken/Nagle/Henderson might have been told a year or two ago that it would be in his best interests to move to Connacht for first team exposure***.

*** BIG CAVEAT: Not looking to start some provincial bun-fight here. These were just some examples that popped into my head!

Perhaps the moves would have to be arranged as player loans

Perhaps this type of move is detrimental to Connacht's development (Connacht will want to develop and keep their own youngsters)

Perhaps better inter-provincial loans between Leinster/Munster/Ulster also need to be developed.

It's clearly a bit of a minefield as far as a discussion goes. However the national team's benefit must come before all others and we really need to get better at bringing players from U20 level through to HEC/international level. Nucifora will need a mixture of authoritarianism and diplomacy to achieve a successful outcome, without p*ss*ng off national/provincial coaches. It is certainly worth having a separate role (from the national team coach), as I think it has a very different skill-set and time-line compared to a coaching position.

I am pie

Henderson is just fine where he is thanks!

c.b.

I am pie wrote: »

Henderson is just fine where he is thanks!

He is now. I was really just thinking maybe he could have benefited from getting regular first team rugby a year or so ago. In addition, you would probably want to see him return to his home province after a year as they clearly deserve to get the benefit of him. Maybe he's not the best example as we know he's going to make it (touching wood that everything continues to progress as planned) and really he's still very young for his position. However there must be some young players in ulster who could do with some game time to develop them.

Shout Dust

Nucifora isn't rated down in Aus apparently, lifted from another forum
"WTF are the IRFU smoking? That appointed would be disastrous. Any admin job in Rugby that bloke has touched hasn't worked out.

His last gig in Australia he got rid out of academies at each Super Rugby team to form two centralised academies in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia A program was scrapped, the under 20s got worse, was a selector at some point prior to his ''promotion.''