THE IRFU HAVE announced that David Humphreys will succeed David Nucifora as Performance Director.
The former Ireland international will step into the role when Nucifora departs at the end of the current season.
Nucifora first joined the IRFU on an initial five-year contract in 2014, becoming the first person to hold the position of Performance Director at the Union.
The Australian will continue with the IRFU until the completion of the Paris Olympics next summer. During Nucifora’s time at the IRFU, he relaunched both the men’s and women’s Sevens programmes and made Olympic qualification a top priority.
The IRFU’s search for Nucifora’s successor was led by Odgers Berndtson and the interview panel included members of the IRFU senior leadership team, as well as high performance expert Gary Keegan, who has worked closely with Andy Farrell’s men’s squad over recent seasons.
Humphreys is currently the Director of Cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, a position he took up earlier this year. He previously sat on Cricket Ireland’s High Performance Committee and was Director of Rugby at both Ulster and Gloucester, and a High-Performance Consultant with Georgia Rugby.
During his playing career, Humphreys won 72 caps for Ireland and scored 560 points.
He captain Ulster to European Cup glory in the 1998/99 season and added a Celtic Cup medal in 2004 and Celtic League title in 2005/2006.
Humphreys is set to join the IRFU in March as Performance Director Designate, where he will work alongside Nucifora. From 1 June 2024, Nucifora will then oversee the final preparation programme for the Paris Olympics, while Humphreys will assume full responsibility as IRFU Performance Director.
“In David Humphreys we know we have found someone who believes passionately in Irish Rugby and has the expertise, skills, and desire to keep us competitive on the world stage,” said IRFU CEO Kevin Potts.
“Our search took us globally and ultimately David was the stand-out candidate.
“David’s journey from a schools player to representing his province and then to the national game ideally places him to understand the needs of the player. His local knowledge and 30 years’ experience of elite rugby and immersion in high performance, previously with Cricket Ireland’s High Performance Committee and now his current role with the England & Wales Cricket Board, will bring about enormous benefits and we are excited for the next stage in our evolution.
David’s observations about the development of the system over the last decade showed a deep understanding and I was enthused by his energy and vision for rugby in Ireland and cannot wait to see him bring it to life.
“I would like to thank David Nucifora for the outstanding contribution he has made in building our high performance unit over almost a decade and wish him every success in his future endeavours.
“Of course, before he concludes, there is still much to be done this season, including the upcoming 2024 Six Nations Championship for our Men, Women and U20s as well as preparing our Sevens teams for the Paris Olympics.
“He will leave a solid foundation for David Humphreys to build upon and we are grateful for his commitment to working with his successor through next Spring, ensuring a smooth handover of this key role for Irish Rugby.”
Humphreys added: “I was fortunate to have a wonderful playing career with Ireland and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to play a part in another chapter of Irish Rugby’s history.
“This role is the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition and I look forward to building on the successful systems put in place by David Nucifora, who has been a driving force behind Irish Rugby for 10 years.
“The chance now to further develop the pathways in the Men’s and Women’s game hugely excites me and I am really looking forward to working with all the coaches, provinces, players, and backroom teams to ensure that Irish Rugby continues to go from strength to strength.”
Honestly, I think having an outsider in that position is better. Cold, hard logic governing decisions rather than any possible bias
@John K: he has a good cv though, outside big job experience, while also knowing here. Think it’s a good call
@John K: the issuse with bias is every decision he makes will be viewed by some as bias.
@Andrew Donohoe: is it though? Performance director England cricket? Meanwhile England cricket is an utter mess, playing its worst cricket in years and seeing dwindling numbers of people engaged with the sport in England.
I would have preferred someone from NZRU, French Rugby etc.
@Aaron Tynan: Was he Director of Rugby at Ulster around the time O’Driscoll called it a basket case, or had he left at that stage?
His appointment doesn’t fill me with confidence – as you say a complete outsider would be better.
@Aaron Tynan: Why would his nationality make any difference? No individual from other unions can bring something better than David Nucifora. Let’s be honest, like him or loathe him (and there are a few) he has brought Irish structures to the top of world rugby and he will be a tough act to follow. The next man will bring a new perspective regardless. He only needs to add a few subtle changes to our existing structures and take a firm hand with the misogynistic amateur committees to help unlock the potential of Women’s rugby.
@Aaron Tynan: Humphries is the Director of Performance Operations with the England and Wales Cricket Board, not the performance director. He has absolutely no responsibility for the day to day performance of the England mens team.
@James: after. He left Ulster in 2014 after a very good spell on the field. That stuff came after him
People criticising this and know nothing of Humphrys @Aaron Tynan: did the mess of English cricket just happen in the last 9 months? Because thats how long he’s been in that job. @James: he left Ulster long before that, that was around 2018, he left 2014, Ulster were in the HCup final and Pro 12 Final while he was DOR. He’s been outside the irish system for 10 years, in multiple roles that more than qualifies him. Wonder would people have had same misinformed opinions about Conor O’Shea?
@John McAlester: ya I get that but the grassroots cricket in England is not in a good way. The sport is really struggling there and the systems in place are shambolic. I presume a lot of that would fall into his realm. As someone else mentioned above was he with Ulster when they were being called out for having poor systems in place a while back?
@John K: Not sure us Irish are ready to ‘rule’ yet tbh (see entire social infrastructure)
@Kingshu: No doubt they would and be equally misguided. For all the praise Nucifora has received Ireland still hasn’t got past the QF. He kept the Irish players must be for the provinces rule in place despite our results in 2015 and 2019. Contrast that we SA winning 2019 and this year. Only 1 win the Heineken since his arrival v 5 in the previous decade. Yes we have won 6N titles but that’s not the litmus test imo. Hopefully Humphries can bring ideas that will help us past the QF glass ceiling.
@Aaron Tynan: He has been in the role with English cricket for 9 months do you think the problems occurred on his watch. The guy is hugely qualified for the role, I wonder is the problem with some people if its the part of Ireland he comes from.
Wow. He was some operator at fly half. Shrewd guy for sure. And huge passion for Irish rugby. Used to high performance sport. Best of luck to you David. We need to kick down the quarter final door in 4 years time, don’t bother knocking! Has to be our mindset, no matter what draw we get. And kick down all the doors between this and that while your at it!
@Arjuna: we will win the world cup 2027 starts today haha
@Sèan: is your life really that unfulfilling?
@Patrick O’Sullivan: its a joke ya tank
@Patrick O’Sullivan: rude tit
Big boots
Not too sure about this. As others have alluded to, an outside replacement would have been preferable. Or if going with a past international, Conor O’Shea was the guy. Still, massive shoes to fill. Nucifora leaves a really successful legacy, and Irish rugby in a far better place than when he started.
@Carmine Lorenzo: Conor O’Shea lost all credibility in Italy and is now overseeing one of the most disastrous periods in RFU history. DH has no baggage. I don’t think it is possible to know who the right man for the job is. It is very much about managing structures and putting failsafes in place for when things go wrong. David will be judges in 5 to 10 years time. Most people in the amateur game detested everything Nucifora did during his time and yet he will leave an amazing legacy behind.
@Paul Ennis: not sure about ‘amazing legacy’. We kept blowing it in World Cup quarter finals under his watch.
@Paul Ennis: Nucifora for all the slack he gets has been great. Humphries I’m not convinced by either. Has overseen cricket englands downfall and it’s grassroots systems, promotion of the game have been shambolic. The sport is dying in England as a result. He wouldn’t fill me with confidence either.
@Aaron Tynan: was England crickets downfall been in last 9 months? And has the grassroots suddenly just become shambolic in last 9 months?
@Aaron Tynan: What are you banging on about? DH has been involved in English cricket for about ten minutes as Director of Performance Operations, a logistical role concerned with matters including the organisation of foreign tours.
@Aidan Farrell: the world cup is only the top end… the part all of us see. The role is also responsible for 7s, women’s, provinces, youths pathways, coach recruitment & coach development. He was not responsible for tactics, squad selection or training of the world cup squad.
No better man
Joe Schmidt was touted as the replacement, so personally I would have preferred him with his connection to NZ. Hope Humphries can do a good job
@Aprior: really??
@Aprior: He said no to it. I think he wants to stay close to family. Losing his Mother in 2019 must have been so hard being so far away.
Great news for Ulster. They’ll get the benefit of any 50-50 decisions on contracts etc now. Smacks a bit of a jobs for the boys appointment though. Underwhelming.
@Aidan Farrell: Why would you say that Aiden? I’d be confident that he will do his job without fear or favour and won’t flinch from making hard decisions. He has excelled as a player, as an administrator and academically and the people in the know at the recruitment agency and in the IRFU think he’s the man for the job. Great news for Ireland.
@Aidan Farrell: We’ll, if so, it will at least give us some variety so we don’t just get the more rabid Munster fans complaining about Leinster
Hopefully we’ll see more player movement between provinces and less Leinster centric decision making now.
Nucifora was a disaster for the women’s game as well, incredible how much the team has declined under his tenure.
@Rochelle Hart: women were a disaster at playing rugby not him
@Rochelle Hart: Can you provide some examples of the “Leinster centric decision making”?
@Rochelle Hart: women’s rugby declined under Nucifora? When were they ever any good? True there needs to be more investment, but you have to be at least decent at something before decline can happen.
@Stephen Foster: From semi finalists in the 2014 world cup and Six Nations champions in 2013 and 2015 to losing to Spain and not even qualifying along with a 2023 wooden spoon.
Abject failure.
@Rochelle Hart: Agreed that Nucifora failed to tackle the misogyny within the IRFU ranks. But it was not Nucifora that led to the decline. Listen to the committee men up and down the country who get elected year after year without any real accountability. The misogynistic attitude is deep routed and Nucifora (or anyone) would have struggled to tackle it alone. I listened to them cheering for Italy in the GS game for fear that success in Women’s Rugby would mean the loss of resources elsewhere.
Will he look after the Club game or just concentrate on the bigger picture like his Predecessor!
Ulster gonna be stacked with talent !
@Simon: Well said my friend. As the old saying goes – You can’t change a sows ear into a silk purse. That sums up our ladies rugby team.
Irelands Call as our anthem away from home, that’s enough of a reason to dislike him.
@Daithi: No doubt DH’s first move will be to replace it with Zombie