Scotland Rugby hire ex-Ireland guru Nucifora

Scottish Rugby (SRU) has announced the impressive recruitment of David Nucifora in an advisory capacity, the man who helped oversee Ireland’s success in rugby over the past decade.

Nucifora was the Irish Rugby Football Union’s (IRFU) performance director from June 2014 through to the recent Paris Olympics. During that time the men’s team leapt to the top of the World Rugby rankings, won four Six Nations titles, a run which included two Grand Slams.

The women’s team secured the 2015 Six Nations title, while both Sevens teams qualified for the 2024 Olympics.

David Humphreys has since taken over Nucifora’s role at the IRFU and Nucifora has now confirmed he will work for the SRU in an advisory capacity, focusing on a roadmap of player development. He will be given license to drive change across Scotland’s development structure on a two-year deal.

The role is advisory and will help guide the SRU’s board to their next permanent performance director.

“I’m really looking forward to joining the team at Scottish Rugby,” Nucifora said. “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.”