Andy Farrell makes surprise first Lions appointment as Joe Schmidt’s long-time ally and person touted as Rugby Australia’s saviour set to join
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell and Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt.
Andy Farrell is set to make a shock appointment to his British and Irish Lions backroom staff by hiring former IRFU performance director David Nucifora.
It is being widely reported that Nucifora will take up a position in Farrell’s team for the upcoming tour to Australia.
Although his exact responsibilities have not yet been defined, it is said that he will be “managing the performance staff” during the upcoming Lions series.
The 63-year-old joined the Irish Rugby Football Union in 2014 and has worked alongside Farrell and current Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt before his departure after the Paris Olympics.
Consultancy role
Nucifora then took up an advisory role with Rugby Australia, once again working closely with his ally from the Ireland days, Schmidt, but he left for a position with the Scottish Rugby Union.
He continued to help out in Australia until November 2024 when he was hired on a two-year deal by the Scottish Rugby Union.
His departure was a blow for the Aussies, with the former Brumbies coach’s arrival being greeted with excitement down under, and his upcoming Lions role will ask further questions of RA.
In some quarters he was touted as a saviour of Australian rugby given his work with Ireland previously, but there is confusion as to what he actually achieved before finishing up at the governing body.
In August, after Nucifora’s role with the SRU was confirmed, RA chief executive Phil Waugh claimed Nucifora would finish the work that he started.
“Obviously there’s a fair few balls in the air at the moment, but we need to get to a new national contracting model as soon as possible and then we need to ensure we’re capturing the best athletes we can through the pathway system. Those two projects are pretty important,” Waugh said last year.
However, it is understood that those tasks were not completed by the time he began at the SRU.
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Other potential appointments
Nucifora headlines the first raft of Farrell appointments with Ireland strength and conditioning guru Aled Walters also set to be a part of the Lions backroom staff.
Walters is currently with the Irish set-up after his sudden departure from England following their July series in New Zealand.
He could be joined by Felix Jones, who also resigned from his role at the Red Rose around the same time, and Paul O’Connell, with the ex-Ireland internationals candidates for positions within Farrell’s staff.
It is just a few months until the Lions head to Australia to face the Wallabies in a three-Test series and former head coach Warren Gatland has been surprised by Farrell’s delay in naming his backroom team.
Gatland, who led the famous touring side in 2013, 2017 and 2021, told the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast: “I thought Andy might have done it after the autumn, and he has left it a little bit later than I may have done.
“I think you need some continuity, but he will also want maybe a fresh face, and there is no doubt [he will go] for some people involved in his own set-up.”
