Latest news with #Nucifora
Scotsman
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Scotland offer to lead on GB rugby sevens as cuts threaten the sport's future in UK
Williamson and Nucifora recognise importance of sevens and historic context Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland are offering to take the lead on international sevens rugby in Britain as the programme comes under threat due to cost cutting. Alex Williamson, Scottish Rugby's new chief executive, said Murrayfield would be prepared to devote more 'time and energy' to the sport, host the squad and supply more players to the Great Britain team. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Williamson, who took over in January, believes Scotland is more emotionally invested in sevens than England and Wales due its historic ties. He has an ally in David Nucifora, Scottish Rugby's performance director consultant, who is a big sevens fan and sees it as a way of identifying and developing talent. Scotland winger Ross McCann in action for the Great Britain sevens team against Tonga during an Olympic repechage event in Monaco in 2024. GB men failed to qualify. | Getty Images The future of international sevens in the UK was plunged into doubt last month after it was confirmed that the Great Britain men's and women's full-time teams programme will be scrapped in July. The unions say the decision has been driven by financial pressures. The teams will continue to compete but with the players being selected from a so-called 'camp and competition model', with non-contracted players coming together to train and play in the World Series. Williamson said that he and Nucifora had not given up on sevens remaining full-time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alex Williamson, Scottish Rugby's chief executive officer. | SNS Group 'We would really like there to be a fully-funded full-time sevens programme,' said the chief executive. 'I'm sure you all know that David, to use finance phrasing, is long on sevens. He thinks it's a really important thing, particularly for a smaller union like ours because it provides excellent opportunities for young players and opens their minds to so many different skills. 'So, we would much prefer this to be a full-time programme, and we are working on that still, we haven't given up on that. And in that vein, we would happily take the lead on the programme if we can convince England and Wales to support us with that, and that's a negotiation we are in. 'I have no sense as to whether we will be successful with that, but if we can be then we would love to be at the front of that.' Rugby sevens originated in Melrose in 1883 and the Borders circuit remains an important part of the rugby calendar in Scotland, with last month's Melrose Sevens attracting international guest teams and a crowd of around 7,000. Williamson believes the strong Scottish connection to sevens makes it a natural fit. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'By its nature, and the fact that we are really strong on it while England and Wales for different reasons are not as interested, we would definitely put more time and energy into it, and probably player resource as well,' Williamson said. 'It's a natural place for us to be. It is a Scottish game, we would love to be running round doing it. Everyone I have met is a lover of sevens and has got a willingness to invest, but only in Scotland.' This year's Melrose Sevens attracted a crowd of around 7,000. The men's winners were the guest side Shogun who beat the hosts in the final. | Lisa Ferguson A men's Scotland national sevens team used to compete in the World Series but in 2022 they were subsumed into the GB team with England and Wales, with the aim of competing at the 2024 Olympics. However, the GB men failed to qualify for the Paris Games. Williamson believes the immediate future of international sevens would continue to revolve around a GB team but would want Scotland to be at the vanguard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Sydney Morning Herald
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Take note Wallabies - Pumas made Lions look like lost cats
Bravo Argentina, who claimed a famous 28-24 win against the Lions in Dublin at the weekend. The excuses quickly flowed for the Lions, conveniently ignoring the fact that the magnificent Pumas were missing nine starters from the side that thrashed the Wallabies in Argentina last year. The reality is the Lions played with a hint of hubris, throwing needless offloads, and a hint of vulnerability, with their big South African winger Duhan van der Merwe second best in the aerial battles and their back row looking undersized with three natural opensides. But the main story really was about Argentina, whose players are scattered throughout the world but who consistently show a remarkable ability to come together quickly. They exposed the Lions' narrow defence, counterattacked with brilliance and scrambled as if their lives depended on it. They should have beaten Ireland on the same ground in November but are clearly a team on the up under a young and innovative coaching crew. Schmidt's already inside their heads On the eve of the Argentina game, the Lions' Australian 'general manager of performance' David Nucifora gave an unintentionally illuminating interview in which he talked about Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt. Nucifora admitted that he was an avid listener to Schmidt's interviews, trying to get a read on what he was thinking, with the two men knowing each other very well from their time in Ireland. Good luck with that, given Schmidt's habit of qualifying everything that he says. But Nucifora's attempted Kremlinology shows the Lions have a degree of wariness about Schmidt and what he might be planning. Based on what they dished up against Argentina, with captain Maro Itoje decrying it as 'tippy tappy' rugby, their energy would be better spent elsewhere. Lions scrum was good - but only to a point Argentina's scrum has been a weakness for years, so the penalties won by the Lions in Dublin for most of the game wouldn't have surprised or alarmed Schmidt or Wallabies scrum guru Mike Cron. However, they will have noted that when the Lions tried to use their scrum in the latter stages to squeeze Los Pumas when it really mattered, they got no joy. At that point, the Lions forwards had clearly decided the backs were running around like headless chooks and they would need to win the game themselves, but with replacements Tadhg Furlong and Pierre Schoeman on the field there were a couple of messy, evenly contested scrums. Furlong is world-class but hasn't played since early May and is clearly some way off his best. Super Rugby's No 10 myth busted Super Rugby Pacific is arguably the most forward-oriented competition in the world, at least when it counts in the winter months when the playoffs occur. For the second season in a row, the winners (the Crusaders on Saturday) did so without a Test 10, never mind a world-class one. It was the same last year, when the Blues won the comp with the then-uncapped Harry Plummer (he went on to win a solitary cap for the All Blacks with five minutes off the bench against the Wallabies in Sydney). Contrast that with other major comps this year. The Top 14 final will be between Toulouse and Bordeaux (and their French No 10s Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert), the English Premiership was won by Bath (Scotland and Lions No 10 Finn Russell), the URC was won by Leinster (Ireland No 10 Sam Prendergast) and Japan Rugby League One by Toshiba (and their No 10 Richie Mo'unga). Super is won by tight fives - there wasn't a single minute of the Crusaders-Chiefs final on Saturday when the Crusaders weren't operating with an all-All Blacks front row.
The Age
22-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Take note Wallabies - Pumas made Lions look like lost cats
Bravo Argentina, who claimed a famous 28-24 win against the Lions in Dublin at the weekend. The excuses quickly flowed for the Lions, conveniently ignoring the fact that the magnificent Pumas were missing nine starters from the side that thrashed the Wallabies in Argentina last year. The reality is the Lions played with a hint of hubris, throwing needless offloads, and a hint of vulnerability, with their big South African winger Duhan van der Merwe second best in the aerial battles and their back row looking undersized with three natural opensides. But the main story really was about Argentina, whose players are scattered throughout the world but who consistently show a remarkable ability to come together quickly. They exposed the Lions' narrow defence, counterattacked with brilliance and scrambled as if their lives depended on it. They should have beaten Ireland on the same ground in November but are clearly a team on the up under a young and innovative coaching crew. Schmidt's already inside their heads On the eve of the Argentina game, the Lions' Australian 'general manager of performance' David Nucifora gave an unintentionally illuminating interview in which he talked about Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt. Nucifora admitted that he was an avid listener to Schmidt's interviews, trying to get a read on what he was thinking, with the two men knowing each other very well from their time in Ireland. Good luck with that, given Schmidt's habit of qualifying everything that he says. But Nucifora's attempted Kremlinology shows the Lions have a degree of wariness about Schmidt and what he might be planning. Based on what they dished up against Argentina, with captain Maro Itoje decrying it as 'tippy tappy' rugby, their energy would be better spent elsewhere. Lions scrum was good - but only to a point Argentina's scrum has been a weakness for years, so the penalties won by the Lions in Dublin for most of the game wouldn't have surprised or alarmed Schmidt or Wallabies scrum guru Mike Cron. However, they will have noted that when the Lions tried to use their scrum in the latter stages to squeeze Los Pumas when it really mattered, they got no joy. At that point, the Lions forwards had clearly decided the backs were running around like headless chooks and they would need to win the game themselves, but with replacements Tadhg Furlong and Pierre Schoeman on the field there were a couple of messy, evenly contested scrums. Furlong is world-class but hasn't played since early May and is clearly some way off his best. Super Rugby's No 10 myth busted Super Rugby Pacific is arguably the most forward-oriented competition in the world, at least when it counts in the winter months when the playoffs occur. For the second season in a row, the winners (the Crusaders on Saturday) did so without a Test 10, never mind a world-class one. It was the same last year, when the Blues won the comp with the then-uncapped Harry Plummer (he went on to win a solitary cap for the All Blacks with five minutes off the bench against the Wallabies in Sydney). Contrast that with other major comps this year. The Top 14 final will be between Toulouse and Bordeaux (and their French No 10s Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert), the English Premiership was won by Bath (Scotland and Lions No 10 Finn Russell), the URC was won by Leinster (Ireland No 10 Sam Prendergast) and Japan Rugby League One by Toshiba (and their No 10 Richie Mo'unga). Super is won by tight fives - there wasn't a single minute of the Crusaders-Chiefs final on Saturday when the Crusaders weren't operating with an all-All Blacks front row.
Telegraph
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
‘Joe Schmidt is an overthinker who tries to play mind games'
The 63-year-old former Queensland and Australia hooker played the Lions in Cairns on the 1989 tour and remembers well the reception that the Lions received in 2001, when the tourists believed they faced a nationwide campaign to undermine them. At the time Rod Macqueen's Wallabies were world champions, were ahead of the curve in setting traps for the tourists, whether through criticising their playing style and physicality, or with the future England head coach Eddie Jones in place to give the Lions a bloody nose when they faced his ACT Brumbies side. The tourists won that match by a mere two points, but Australia A defeated them in the build-up to the first Test in Brisbane. The Wallabies edged the series 2-1. 'A coordinated assault,' recalls Nucifora, who played for Queensland from 1986 to 1993 and was on the bench when Australia defeated England in the World Cup final in 1991 at Twickenham. 'When people ask what value can I bring, there's obviously the local knowledge of knowing the places we're in, what we're able to do but I think, more importantly, understanding the mindset, of the Australians and the Wallabies. 'I know how they'll be approaching this, and I know what they're capable of. People would underestimate them at their peril, because they will always be able to put a strong team out that will be super-competitive. And then you've got Joe working with them as well. He's made a big difference in a short period of time. We're going to be in for a really difficult Test series. 'I played in a tour match against the Lions in Cairns. Whatever you think of the non-Test games, the local players are going to lift themselves 20 or 30 per cent. It's a once-in-a-career opportunity to play this iconic team so I guarantee you, it's not just the Wallabies who are thinking about their games. It's all of these Super Rugby teams and the other teams thinking they are going to get one shot at the Lions. Every time we step out on that pitch, those teams are going to be looking to roll us, to really put it to us. The tour is going to be a lot more difficult on the pitch than a lot of people outside of the inner sanctum of the team might appreciate.' Lions coaches prepared for 'chaos' That Farrell made Nucifora one of his first appointments reflects the Lions head coach's desire to replicate the 'real-time' feedback that the Australian provided when they worked together with Ireland, instead of waiting weeks after a tour or competition for a report. When Ireland embarked on the three-Test tour of New Zealand in 2022, the Covid pandemic was still causing complications, and Farrell and Nucifora had included two midweek fixtures against the NZ Maori to intensify the demands on players ahead of the 2023 World Cup. 'On tour, especially one as chaotic as this, you have to be prepared for chaos. S--- is going to go wrong,' Nucifora adds. 'That New Zealand tour was a prime example. It was around the Covid period, and we were moving around New Zealand playing difficult games back to back. And I suppose just trying to keep people calm when things didn't go as they expected. A lot of people like certainty. 'This is going to happen, that is going to happen.' But that is not the reality on these trips, especially one of this size. It is going to go off track at times, and you need to be ready to be able to adapt and adjust. 'Test-match rugby can become a little bit sterile at times. You've got these weeks of preparation and you're only worried about playing the Test match, that's all you do. 'Well, all of a sudden, we've got a very complicated travel itinerary with games every three days or four days. You've got teams about to play, teams preparing to play. You've got medics working on players, trying to get them fit. There's a lot of stuff going on and it is about being able to try to keep people focused on what's important when it gets a bit chaotic. Keep them calm. 'The piece of magic that you need is to understand how you bring people together. It's no good just having talent if it doesn't understand how it works in a cohesive way. So to be able to put together a plan on the field and off the field that gets people thinking, behaving and acting in unison, that's the only way that you exponentially get the value out of the talent. If you can't do that, then you have four countries that come together with a lot of good players, but don't really gel. That's the same with the staff as well. How do you do it in a short space of time? That's what a lot of work goes into – to make that happen.'
RTÉ News
21-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
David Nucifora hits out at 'nonsense' IRFU decision on Sevens programme
Former IRFU high performance director David Nucifora has hit out at the union's decision to axe the men's Sevens programme, calling it "short sighted nonsense". Australian Nucifora, who was at the IRFU between 2014 and last summer, and is now working with the British and Irish Lions and Scottish Rugby Union, was the driver of the Sevens programme while in Ireland. In 2024 both the men's and women's squad qualified for the Olympics. Last week the union cited financial challenges as a reason to discontinue the men's programme, highlighting the fact that the province's academies serve as player pathways, while the women's game does not have the same feeder lines. "The financial situation we face is challenging, and it's crucial that we take decisive action to secure the long-term success of Irish rugby," said high performance director David Humphreys. Nucifora made his comments under a Facebook post by David Barry, who was a main financial backer of the Sevens programme. Barry, who owns MLR side New England Freejacks, says he was not consulted before the decision, which has come under severe criticism from many high-profile former players, was made. Barry wrote on Facebook: "To find out this week that a decision (following an apparent in-depth consultation) was taken to axe the men's 7s programme without even the courtesy of a phone call to me is super disappointing. "I feel I would have been able to provide the committee and decision makers with some valuable perspectives and ideas. "It's hard to accept that this decision was taken solely on financial grounds as I cannot see any tangible effort expended during the so called consultation period to solve the purported funding challenge. A sad demise to a wonderful programme!". Replying under the post, Nucifora (above) wrote: "Firstly a huge thanks to you David Barry who had the vision and the generosity to back our plan. "Without you it wouldn't have happened. "To now see this short sighted nonsense decision is gut-wrenching. Your vision helped create Irish Olympians and change peoples' lives," he wrote. "The lack of vision and leadership being shown is also a major concern for Irish rugby. "World Rugby and some unions do not deserve the right to own the game of 7s. "The sooner someone takes it from them the sooner it will meet its potential." The IRFU has told the players their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the season but they would be paid until the end of this year. Speaking on RTÉ's Against the Head, former Ireland captain Donal Lenihan said: "It's my understanding is that none of the players were consulted about this. "The manner of which it was handled has been really poor."
