THERE HAVE BEEN fears in some quarters that David Nucifora’s position as performance director of the IRFU means he is answerable to no one.

The Australian came on board in 2014 in what was then a newly-created position with a very wide-ranging remit.

The job brief includes responsibility for all Ireland national teams’ performance – including the women’s team – as well as the provincial teams’ performance, player development, coaching development, refereeing development, succession planning, and a fair bit more.

Within the game, Nucifora is seen as the most powerful man in Irish rugby. He makes the big decisions on the big contracts for players, coaches, and other staff.

Nucifora’s own current deal expires next summer but last week, IRFU CEO Philip Browne confirmed that discussions have begun regarding an extension. The signs are that Nucifora will be sticking around.

That decision will be unpopular in some quarters, with Nucifora understood to have a difficult relationship with Leinster in particular, while many in the club game feel disenfranchised. Last week, it was also reported that the IRFU performance director had directly involved himself in the off-the-field controversy in women’s rugby.

All of that said, it’s unlikely anyone in Nucifora’s position would be uniformly popular. One of the reasons the IRFU hired him is because it could see he has thick skin.

And IRFU CEO Philip Browne insists that Nucifora is answerable to the union.

“He reports to me and he reports to the NPGB,” said Browne, highlighting the National Professional Game Board, which includes former Ireland scrum-half Eoin Reddan, ex-Ireland manager Mick Kearney, and high performance specialists Caroline Currid and Gary Keegan.

Eoin Reddan is part of the NPGB. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

“The NPGB, myself, and the management committee decide whether his contract is extended or not,” continued Browne.

“He is challenged. The NPGB has independent members on it from outside of rugby and David himself is quite happy to be challenged.

“He would be the first to say, ‘I need to be challenged, I don’t necessarily have all the right answers’ and I think that’s a classic trait of people involved in high performance – that they’re all looking for improvements and for ways in which they can challenge themselves and the people who work in high performance.”

Browne said the IRFU is “very happy” with the job Nucifora is doing as performance director, but there are certainly areas that need attention.

Many of those in the club game feel they have been left out in the cold, but Browne pointed to the €4 million funding – which came from the Irish government – for clubs that the IRFU provided during the pandemic as a sign of good work in that department.

“I think we are doing our damndest, in many respects,” said Browne.

“We are pretty hopeful that the government will provide further funding. We have made submissions and we are waiting to hear back from that. I would imagine part of that will be funding for the club game.

“It is important for us that the club game should be in a healthy financial and sustainable position. In many respects, it is curious, Covid has changed the way a lot of organisations do their business.

“Our engagement with clubs is, curiously, probably better with the clubs as a result.”

Browne did point out that some clubs are struggling to attract volunteers back after the break during the pandemic but said other sports are encountering that issue too.

Meanwhile, at the top level, Browne is happy with the work being led by Nucifora.

Ireland’s win over the All Blacks last weekend was good for business and Browne praised Nucifora’s work in the pathway that helps to bring players through to the national team.

Browne is happy with the investment into 7s rugby. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Nucifora relaunched the Ireland men’s 7s programme as a priority when he arrived in 2014, while the women’s 7s programme has also received plenty of attention and funding in recent years.

Browne said the IRFU is convinced that it’s getting a return on its investment in 7s, although he wouldn’t confirm how much the union is spending on it.

“I couldn’t give you a ballpark figure but I am happy,” said Browne. “7s is now an Olympic sport and it is a key part of World Rugby’s strategy in terms of developing the game and trying to give it a better global footprint.

“From that perspective, we got a fair degree of criticism at World Rugby level for not actually having a proper 7s programme at the time.

“So in essence in order to be a Tier One country and to get Tier One funding, part and parcel of that is having a Sevens team, both men and women.

“Having said that, the World Rugby sevens programme is being reviewed at the moment in terms of the World Series and how that’s going to run in the future because there are problems in terms of the cost of hosting tournaments.

“7s actually provides a really good development pathway for kids who are coming into the system. One of the difficulties that we have is that kids coming through our academy programmes sometimes don’t get enough game time or a lot of relevant game time.

“The 7s programme provides greater contact for players in terms of the basic skills of rugby because in 7s everything is magnified to the umpteenth degree. 

“On the other side, in terms of the women’s game, for girls who come to the game late, the 7s programme provides an opportunity for accelerated development for rugby. Some will transfer across into the 15s game and that’s a policy followed by a number of unions across the world.

“If you look at the match last week between New Zealand and England, there was quite a lot of 7s players taken back into the 15s programme.

“It’s a means of accelerating the development of young players who otherwise might take longer. I’m not saying that they won’t develop ultimately but it might take a bit longer.”

- This article was updated at 11.20am to correct David Nucifora’s job title in the caption under the lead photograph.