Why Scottish rugby will see role for Irish performance guru as significant coup

The Scottish Rugby Union has reportedly made a significant appointment in its bid to improve the health of the sport after landing former Ireland performance director David Nucifora on an advisory basis.

Nucifora, a 62-year-old from Australia, left his role with the Irish Rugby Union last month after ten years at the helm of the sport across the Irish Sea. He is widely credited as the catalyst for Ireland's rejuvenation, winning four Six Nations and becoming the No 1 team in the world. The SRU have been searching for a replacement for Jim Mallinder, who left as performance director late last year, and according to The Times, Nucifora has agreed a two-year contract with Scotland.

David Nucifora has reportedly agreed a deal with the SRU. | Getty Images

Nucifora also has a consultancy role with Rugby Australia in his homeland and it is suggested he will still perform that role while with Scotland. Regardless, getting Nucifora to work within Scottish rugby will be regarded as a serious boost to the game in this country. His remit will be to improve the game, from grass roots to international level, and is a big piece of the SRU jigsaw under new chairman John McGuigan.

The SRU is still hunting for a new chief executive to replace the long-serving Mark Dodson, although the governing body recently announced a ‘financial reset’ and that job cuts would be made in a bid to bring the sport back into profit after a series of worrying financial results.

Scotland recently completed a four-match summer tour of the Americas, defeating Canada, USA, Chile and Uruguay, and have autumn internationals at Murrayfield coming up later this year against Fiji, Australia, Portugal and South Africa. However, there is an expectation level on Scotland to improve on recent performances at the World Cup and Six Nations under current head coach Gregor Townsend, who will be expected to work closely with Nucifora.