Confirmed: David Nucifora to take up consultancy role with Scottish Rugby

Moving weekend in rugby as English RFU left reeling after Felix Jones' quit bombshell.

Sun, 25 Aug, 2024 - 15:25

Ben Russell

SCOTTISH Rugby has agreed a two year deal with ex IRFU performance director David Nucifora from November. The 62-year-old Australian will have a wide-ranging brief which will cover all aspects of the traditional Performance Director role, and ultimately help embed the next permanent SRU Performance Director before moving on at the end of his two-year contract.

Nucifora left his role as Performance Director at the IRFU less than a month ago, after just over 10 years in the job. Rugby Australia announced last December that Nucifora had been recruited to an advisory role, and he will still provide a small amount of consultancy support to that organisation alongside his responsibilities in Scotland.

Ireland have won four Six Nations titles since recruiting Nucifora in 2014, including two Grand Slams, as well as three Under-20 Grand Slams in the past five years. He is renowned as a tough and uncompromising character, who will leave no stone unturned in his quest to get every aspect of the business aligned and functioning at optimum level.

Meanwhile the IRFU are not in the market for a coaching addition to Andy Farrell's management ticket, despite Felix Jones's abrupt weekend departure from the role of England defence coach under Steve Borthwick.

Jones' departure is yet to be officially confirmed by the RFU but comes only a month after S&C coach Aled Walters left England's management to join Ireland. The duo worked together at Munster and with world champions South Africa and are known to be close. The Telegraph reported that Jones’ resignation is connected to Walters’ exit.

A scrambling RFU could choose to make Jones' exit difficult as he is understood to have Jones a 12-month notice period, which Twickenham may look to enforce. Jones spent just seven months in the role under Borthwick.

The 37-year-old joined England's coaching set-up after last autumn's World Cup, having helped South Africa become back-to-back world champions.

Since replacing Kevin Sinfield as defence coach in January, Jones has been responsible for revolutionising England's approach without the ball by introducing an aggressive blitz defence, and was considered a vital part of the coaching ticket going forward.

The uncertainty surrounding the England management team includes Kevin Sinfield, the rugby league great who was demoted to skills coach to accommodate Jones' arrival.

Sinfield was poised to step down after the recent tour to Japan and New Zealand but his popularity amongst the players, as well as his experience, was seen as too valuable to lose.

However, an extension of his stay and in what capacity has yet to be confirmed.

The churn of backroom staff - a destructive theme of the Eddie Jones era - also asks questions of Borthwick's methods.

Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth, scrum coach Tom Harrison and coaching consultant Andrew Strawbridge are now the only confirmed members of Borthwick's management team heading into the autumn.

The All Blacks' visit to Twickenham on November 2 opens a schedule that continues with fixtures against Australia, South Africa and Japan and it remains to be seen if Jones will be involved.

Borthwick will see the development as a huge setback having repeatedly hailed the impact made by Jones, whose knowledge he has described as "groundbreaking".