Hume has probably dropped down the pecking order as well. It's a bit unfair as he has been injured a lot, but he isn't near his performances of last season either.
Silly comment. People said the same about Munster after their bad play off loss against ... Guess who! Ulster!
Sport is fickle. One club game doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of international rugby.
They shouldn't be in the Ulster 23 either
Lowry I'd say has lost a lot of ground to JOB since the start of Nov.
You can't just dump players after 1 awful outing! If that was the case, Murray would have pissed off 4 years ago!
Treadwell has credit too. He played really well v Leinster. Lowry is probably waning. He's not big enough. McCloskey will be in the mix as will Timoney.
Ulster have had a terrible week, which will probably get worse this week.
McCloskey still has plenty of goodwill in the bank after the autumn I'm sure.
i didnt follow the game as it was happening and judging just by the score it looks terrible, but in fairness it sounds like the travel situation disrupted things massively so that probably was a factor
having said that, if everyone is available id probably have henderson and moore on the bench and thats about it from ulster if i were picking the 23 - nothing to do with the sale game though. doak will probably push into the squad at some stage after the rwc too and guys like mccloskey, balacoune, timoney and herring are options if needed
I would say Lowry's relatively indifferent form this year has probably pushed him a bit further back in the queue than he would have been at 6N time. Obviously Keenan is a clear number one, but indications are Jimmy O'Brien might be next in mgmt's thinking, and to me then, Mike Haley has earned the right to be next with his performances of late.
No Ireland 23 should ever be decided based on 1 provincial game. But it’s not like any of the guys in that Ulster side are currently in a first choice 23 anyway. Herring and Treadwell are next cabs off the rank but Sheehan, Kelleher, Ryan, Beirne and Henderson are ahead of all of those. There isn’t really anyone else realistically that close to the 23. Maybe McCloskey and Lowry, but they’re debatable.
EDIT: Timoney is in the mix in the back row too obviously. But again, as a next cab off the rank.
No Ulster player should be near the Ireland 23 based on that performance over the weekend
Yeah, I think he's been excellent. He's a quite similar winger to Andrew Conway imo, in that he brings really good defensive solidity and great diligence and effort on kick chases etc, but is also quick enough to be a serious threat when opportunities are presented. He's had a really good year so far.
Nash has grasped the opportunity given to him in Munster by injuries to Earls, Conway and Zebo to show that he is more than capable for stepping up. It will be interesting to see who wins/loses in Munster as those players return from injury. Is he succeeds there then he can start looking towards Ireland where he will once again face tough opposition to get into a match day squad. I like him so obviously Id' love to see him progress.
Ah no, Balacoune is a far more traditional winger. He isn’t one to go roving about the place at all.
There's a big interview with Calvin Nash in the Sunday Times today, few interesting snippets (he didn't appear to be a fan of JVG) but this stuck out a bit, note this is the journalist saying it, not Nash:
"His coaches were impressed by his curiosity, his hunger for information, his willingness to leave his wing in search of work — a trait shared by wings such as James Lowe and Mack Hansen, but not so much by Robert Baloucoune."
Certainly not how I'd view Baloucoune when he's playing for Ulster, he seems to show up all over the place.
Oh, God, could Connacht not use him as backup?
We fear change!
I agree that the IRFU would not want drastic changes. But no system is perfect. I thought an outsider (Nucifora) was the right type of person to oversee the Provincial structure, operations and the link to the senior team.
The Irish Provincial and Senior setup is now on such a strong footing I'm sure the job description would be well defined. Insider v Outsider may not be that important.
Insider Pro's: Somebody who has worked in the system and knows the Pro's & Con's. Relatively seamless transition.
Outsider Pro's: Fresh set of eyes and no perceived provincial bias.
Personally I would lean towards an insider because I think Cullen is the best candidate and the IRFU should be doing everything they can to keep him within the system.
As far as I can see it Cullen's biggest dilemma would be IF he had to move players on from Leinster. Weakening them in the short term but for the greater good of the Senior team.
e.g. Jenkins (that old chestnut) in 2024
&
a) IF the other Provinces didn't have Irish internationals and real emerging prospects (Edogbo. Still cant believe he's only 19)
b) IF Leinster had the Irish internationals Ryan, McCarthy, Baird (for the sake of example) AND a glut of real prospects (Deeney, Soroka, O'Tighnernaigh, Mangan, Spicer)
Personally I think he's professional enough and an even minded individual that his Leinster feelings wouldn't come into it.
Carbery might even have to be moved back to Leinster in 2024!!
it's a fair point but I think this position is very different to a rugby coach or a role like that where someone is often hired because they bring a new vision and have a path to success that they wish to implement. Right now the IRFU seems to already have much of that development and strategy part figured out. As much as anything I'd say they will be looking for continuity and to build on what's been achieved already. The role is one of the few that has visibility into the entire state of rugby on the island and the most important components are (likely) player pathways and coaching talent, so nurturing those and continuing to develop the parts of the system that are working while helping clubs develop in their ability to bring players to the professional track are, I'd say, the most vital parts of the role. Yes, they have a massive say in what players can be brought in from abroad, who gets central contracts, etc. but I doubt Nucifora is down in the weeds about the style of play that should be developed between the provinces and the Irish team, I would say that job is much more concerned with the production line of young players/coaches and how that can be improved and how the IRFU needs to orient itself to maximize success there. I doubt they'll hire someone who wants to make drastic changes to the system that's place.
Leo would be an obvious choice bar one glaring factor. Nucifora has no historical ties or allegiance to any of the provinces and given the nature of the role and the need to make tough decisions around player movement his perceived impartiality has allowed him to escape accusations of bias.
Apart from screwing Ulster for the lols he's generally not overtly favoured any province and even if Leo adopted the same decision making process it would be difficult for him to escape his Leinster shadow.
His contract is up after the world cup. He expects to add another year but would like it to be with his successor in place and slowly transition his role.
There's a lot going on that Nucifora is involved in that requires a delicate handover.
I reckon Leo would be ideal in Nucifora's position. Leinster should retain him though, he's done very well. Maybe he will get Farrells job when Farrell leaves.
When is Nucifora leaving? I think he's done fairly well.
It was reported that in Nucifora's big state of the union address is early November that his contract was up after the World Cup but he wanted to stay longer but he wanted to be transitioning to his replacement rather than finishing up and have his replacement start when he finished.
Money stuff. Consulting with Nucifora on money vs rugby decisions.
I posted a summary of a bunch of things he spoke about during his big address in early November. He has a significant role in everything he spoke about.
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119801940/#Comment_119801940
But the PD hires the coaches, right?
Im not sure if i agree with myself either! Its definitely something that needs to be addressed but not necessarily a critical issue.
PD is not responsible for concussion related injuries. Thats WR and the union's concern (IRFU CEO).
The coaches worry about playing style, contact training and disciple to adapt to the new rules.
Not sure I agree with you on the "next challenge" point. Assuming all coaching/recruitment becomes more standard across provinces, the glut of the national side will always be built around the area with the largest population. But already we're seeing proportional improvements around the country, for e.g., if future Irish squads likely feature Casey, Crowley, Edogbo, Coombes, Ahern, Frisch and possibly one of Daly or Nash, on top of the likes of Beirne, Carbery, etc., Munster will be contributing more than their proportional share.
For me, I think the next big challenge for the Performance Director is going to be how the game responds to the emerging (terrifying) risk of serious neurological conditions, and the litigation pressure associated with same. Getting in front of the likely adaptations to the game, and building a long term playing style around that, will be pivotal.
So in that case the PD strikes me as being all about rugby philosophy, integrating a vision for both how the game should be played, but also, a pragmatic read on what game can conceivably be played within the context, i.e., Ireland, and how to develop/curate that.
In which case, the immediate risk that jumps out to me, regarding an "outsider", is that you have someone come in what a vision that just won't work in the Irish context. And it takes us several years of destructive policy to figure that out.
An insider (like Cullen) will have a better read on what's feasible, but the biggest risk I'd see with a character like that, is basically the opposite. They are almost too empathetic to the context, become pathologically pragmatic, and no concrete plans get adhered to.
So maybe.... hire one of each?
The role also has serious clout. All the way from involvement with the senior men's team (advises CEO) through to appointing the CEO's and all of coaches of the provinces and all the way down to national talent squad.
Cullen would be a great fit to head up that in the IRFU. He knows the system (the pros & the cons), he's not an egoist and i think it helps that he's from the Leinster system.
It's not good for the long term future of the game in Ireland that the glut of the current Irish team and future Irish team is going to come from Leinster. That's the next challenge for Mr. Rugby Performance & Development to solve.
We are used to hearing that the Irish centralised system is the envy of the world. Im not so sure about that. Provincially we were naturally a good fit but It hasn't been an overnight success thats for sure. There are still many imperfections but it's come a hell of a long way since '95 - the exodus to Britain in '96, the march on Lansdowne rd in '03, the neglect of the AIL and yet the green shoots of a triple crown in '04 - the first in 19 years.
When we see the debacle that has unfolded over the water Ireland are certainly on steadier grounds. Lets hope they find the right man.
Makes Nucifora coffee, gives him shoulder rubs and if we win the world cup - a reach around.
The CEO wouldn't interact with the actual sports side of the IRFU, they would be a final decision maker on matters of finance, marketing, governance, sponsorship etc - they'd run the organisation from a purely business perspective. Lots of CEO's in the tech world don't have a development or IT background for example.
In that case, what does the CEO do?
From what I understand Nucifora basically runs the show. He isn't involved in coaching but everything else from Academy recruitment up to appointing National team coaches is within his remit. You could slap his portrait on the cover of a 2000AD comic with the text "I AM THE LAW IRFU" and it wouldn't be far wrong.
He hasn't always gotten good press and I don't know if he'll ever get the recognition but I doubt any one person in any sport in Ireland has delivered so much long term improvement and be in a position to leave as lasting and consequential a legacy as Nucifora.
If every sporting organisation in Ireland was as well run as the IRFU we'd be World beaters across the board.
Does anybody really know the precise role carried out by the Performance Director, aside from enforcing NIE renewal policy to the ire of Ulster fans?
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