David Nucifora returns, Peter Horne takes over as new high performance director

A new era of Australian rugby is about to begin, but an old face is returning which could signal where Australia will turn in the search for its new coach after the Eddie Jones debacle.

Australian Rugby Union high performance manager David Nucifora in Adelaide.

David Nucifora is returning to Australian rugby in a huge boost for the embattled Wallabies, while Peter Horne has been confirmed as the country’s new high performance director.

In a coup for Rugby Australia, Nucifora has decided to return after more than a decade and will take up an advisory role once his duties with Ireland finish after the Paris Olympics next year.

Nucifora was the former boss of high performance in Australian rugby, appointed by then boss John O’Neill. But after O’Neill stepped down in October 2012 – his second stint in charge – Nucifora followed him out the door three months later.

He has since gone on to lead Ireland to become the No. 1 ranked team in World Rugby, as their high performance director, and his return to Australia may boost the chances of the Wallabies signing the highly regarded Joe Schmidt as their next coach.

Schmidt was head coach of Ireland when they ascended to the top of the rankings, and Nucifora had a close working relationship with the Kiwi.

After Andy Farrell took over as Ireland coach, Schmidt joined the All Blacks last year and transformed them, helping New Zealand to defeat Ireland on their way to the World Cup final this year.

Schmidt is known to be keen on the Wallabies job, and Nucifora’s return could orchestrate his signing.

David Nucifora is back in the Aussie fold.

Joe Schmidt could be in line to take over the Wallabies. (Photo by Paul FAITH / AFP)

The man who will guide the replacement for Eddie Jones – who resigned after the disastrous World Cup and has now joined Japan – is Horne.

The Australian will officially start his role in March after 14 years working in high-performance for World Rugby.

RA said Horne’s role would “leading all aspects of Australia’s high-performance rugby, from the Wallabies, Wallaroos and Sevens programs to the alignment of Super Rugby clubs’ high-performance programs and pathway structures.

Horne’s remit will cover coaching, strength-and-conditioning, player development and will focus on setting the systems and structures that will create a successful future for Australian rugby teams.”

Horne said: “We have an opportunity to purpose-build a new Wallabies program from scratch.

“And there is universal agreement across the Super Rugby clubs that the high-performance systems and pathways need a major overhaul to ensure everyone is pushing in the same direction; to deliver sustainable success for our Wallabies, Wallaroos and Sevens teams.

“To have this sort of agreement and understanding on the path forward is exciting and I look forward to working with the Australian rugby community.”

Peter Horne will lead the charge to find Eddie Jones’ replacement. (Photo by Koki Nagahama/Getty Images)

RA chief executive Phil Waugh is confident that Horne, Nucifora, new Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp, and national women’s high-performance manager, Jaime Fernandez, will transform that country’s men’s and women’s teams.

“Peter has a great understanding of the way nations around the world have structured their high-performance programs, and he understands that it cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach,” Waugh said.

“We need to build a more aligned system that is tailored to the nuances of the game here.

“Peter understands Australian rugby, and he has a keen sense for what we need to do to get everyone working towards the same goals.

“Combine that understanding with strong expertise of high-performance environments and he is clearly the right person for the job all five Super Rugby clubs agree; they have all expressed their support for Peter’s appointment and enthusiasm at the prospect of working with him.

“Meanwhile David has well-regarded experience delivering a successful, aligned national high-performance rugby structure with Ireland – whose results in recent years have shown the benefits of such a system.

“We have been clear that we do not want to copy systems from around the world – rather we want to take ideas and concepts from similar structures and apply them locally.

“We know Australian rugby is quite unique in its structure, and we need to be conscious of that as we build something more fit-for-purpose, that delivers better performing Wallabies, Wallaroos, Sevens and Super Rugby teams.”

Originally published as David Nucifora returns, Peter Horne takes over as new high performance director