What David Nucifora appointment means for Scottish Rugby and why he is likely to ruffle feathers at Murrayfield

Nucifora’s appointment was confirmed on Tuesday and the wording of his job description is eye-catching. The former performance director from Irish Rugby will work at Murrayfield in “an advisory capacity to provide a roadmap for its next decade of player development”.

But Nucifora, 62, will perform the role in tandem with his work for Rugby Australia where he is also employed as an advisor following his departure from the IRFU last month. On the face of it, it seems a curious situation, particularly when Scotland and Australia are due to meet each other in Edinburgh on November 24, but it’s one with which Scottish Rugby is comfortable.

Nucifora has not been hired on an exclusive basis and is in effect a private contractor who will respect the confidentiality of his clients. He won’t be involved in issues around team selection but rather more overarching policy decisions. His contract is for two years but the changes he puts in place are likely to shape the game for the next ten years and beyond. He will also have a say in picking his successor.

It’s a lot of responsibility for a part-time advisor but Nucifora has an enviable track record, helping turn Ireland into a global powerhouse which saw them top the world rankings and win four Six Nations titles, including two grand slams, during his ten years as performance director with the IRFU.

“David’s remit will be to drive change in all areas of our development structure to ensure we nurture Scotland’s best male and female talent,” said Scottish Rugby in a statement. “David is contracted for two years during which time he will also advise the Scottish Rugby Limited board on the appointment of a permanent Performance Director.”

Nucifora, who will officially start in October, steps into the void left by Jim Mallinder, Scottish Rugby’s last performance director, who stepped down last season amid concerns over the lack of native talent coming through to the national teams. Around half the current men’s squad was born and developed outside of Scotland and the hope is that Nucifora can help put in place structures that improve the pipeline of local players and lessen the need to go scouring the globe for Scottish-qualified players.

Part of Ireland’s great success was having the vast majority of its international players playing in Ireland which not only made life easier for the national coaches but also bolstered the country’s professional teams. Gregor Townsend would like more of his players to be based in Scotland but it’s more difficult when there are only two pro clubs.

Nucifora, a former hooker who was capped twice by Australia in the early 1990s, was the man Murrayfield wanted from the beginning. John McGuigan, the chair of Scottish Rugby, approached him initially to be performance director on a full-time basis but that didn’t come to fruition. Nucifora had his consultancy work to consider but the pair stayed in touch and eventually an accommodation was reached which would see the Australian come on board.

His arrival is likely to ruffle a few feathers within Murrayfield. He is said to have found Ireland to be quite traditional in its outlook when he arrived and embraced the opportunity to make changes. His first impressions of Scottish rugby are going to be fascinating and his arrival marks the first significant appointment of the post-Mark Dodson era. With the former chief executive’s successor due to be announced imminently, a new dawn is breaking for the sport in this country.

McGuigan has been running the show since Dodson stepped down and the chairman expects Nucifora to help drive the change required to improve Scotland’s standing in the game.

“I’m delighted David has agreed to join Scottish Rugby at a time of fundamental change in the sport,” said McGuigan. “To ensure we can compete at the highest level we need someone of David’s experience to design and implement, at pace, a structure that supports our best talent. David’s success with the IRFU speaks for itself and we now look forward to his expertise being applied to the development of rugby in Scotland.”

Nucifora, who played for Queensland Reds, was part of the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup-winning squad in 1991. He moved into coaching and led the ACT Brumbies to three successive Super 12 series finals, winning the title in 2004. He was also named Australian coach of the year in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

He moved to the Auckland Blues in 2005 as a technical advisor and performance manager before being appointed head coach, a role he held until 2009 when he was appointed general manager of the Australian Rugby Union High Performance Unit in 2009 and coached the Junior Wallabies in the Junior World Championships that year. He joined the IRFU as High-Performance Director in June 2014, a role he has held since then until announcing in late 2023 his intention to move on to new projects.

He said of his new role with Scottish Rugby: “I’m really looking forward to joining the team at Scottish Rugby. I’m well aware of the ambition Scotland has as a rugby nation and the desire to nurture talent to ensure we can compete at the highest level over the long term. To ensure this ambition can be realised we will design and implement a structure which supports high performance outcomes.”