“Some would say Scotland is too small to compete on the world stage. That’s what Ireland told me.”
Those are the words of David Nuccifora, Scotland’s new director of rugby, who is largely credited with Ireland’s recent success in the sport.
During his 10-year reign as performance director at the IRFU, the men’s team rose to the top of the world rankings and won four Six Nations championships, including two Grand Slams.
Now the Australian is hoping to repeat his decade of dominance in the Irish Sea.
“I really had no intention of doing anything else after I graduated,” says the 62-year-old.
“But I had a lot of conversations with John McGuigan (chairman of Scottish Rugby Limited) and we had similar thoughts about the game and where it could go.
“I was convinced there was an opportunity to do something here because I’ve had a fair bit of rugby in this part of the world.
“The lure of being able to help reshape something that I believe has a very high ceiling was appealing to me. So I jumped at the chance and got involved.”
David Nuccifora surveys the scene with Scotland manager Gregor Townsend
The former hooker is tasked with providing a “road map” for the next decade of Scottish rugby player development during his two-year contract. He will also assist the SRU in appointing a permanent successor.
“I’ve been here on the ground for the last five weeks and I’ve been really excited about what I’ve seen,” Nuccifora added.
“I think there’s a lot of potential. There are a number of things that can be attacked very early on to try to make some reasonably quick improvements.
“I certainly don’t have a magic wand, but I see that the structures and raw materials are here to work. I look at it in a very positive light and I believe we can achieve really good things.”
David Nuccifora helped Ireland climb the world rugby rankings during his 10-year tenure at the IRFU.
The men’s national team returned to action against Italy in their Six Nations opener in February.
When asked about Scotland’s chances of winning the tournament, Nuccifora said: “Scotland are a tough team to beat at any time.
“You look back at last year, they had some good wins and they dropped some games that they probably would have been disappointed with. It’s about consistency and you have to have a cohesive system to achieve that.
“You can’t just pick the national team. You have to look at the whole package and go. always the best.”
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