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RTÉ News
27-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Provincial struggles just a 'blip' - David Humphreys hasn't seen signs of regression in Irish rugby
It's been a year since David Nucifora handed the keys of Irish rugby over to David Humphreys, twelve months where the new IRFU performance director has had more than a few big decisions land at his desk. The national team has been in a bit of a flux with Andy Farrell spending time on his British and Irish Lions sabbatical, with a third-place finish in the Six Nations following an underwhelming Autumn Nations Series.. He's had to make unpopular decisions, most notably by axing the men's Sevens programme, which he says has been done to provide extra funds for Munster, Connacht, Ulster and the women's game. That one could be legacy-defining. He's had a more hands-on approach than his predecessor when it comes to women's rugby, but even a year of steady growth has hit a snag recently with Hugh Hogan departing the setup just a few months out from a World Cup. The popular defence coach is believed to have had a falling out with head coach Scott Bemand, with James Scaysbrook coming in at short notice to replace him. On the face of it, the performances of the four provinces is the greatest cause for concern. Ulster and Connacht missed out on Champions Cup rugby, with the latter's season falling apart and leading to the departure of head coach Pete Wilkins. Munster barely scraped into the URC play-offs, and parted ways with Graham Rowntree back in October. And while Leinster broke their four-year wait for a trophy with the URC title, their shock Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints was a sobering one for the whole of Irish rugby. "I don't think I've seen signs of regression," Humphreys says, when Irish rugby's difficult 12 months is put to him. "I think the nature of sport is that there are ups and downs and it's almost this year there's been - not quite the perfect storm - but there's a lot of things that have happened which would give off the view that it hasn't been as successful as it has been in the past. "But for all those areas that you mentioned, when you look at some of the changes we've made, whether its coaching team, from a contracting point of view, the quality of the squads, I have no doubt that next year will be much stronger and much better, certainly across the provinces." Since arriving into this role a year ago, Humphreys has acknowledged one of his key jobs is to help bring Munster, Connacht and Ulster closer to Leinster, both in terms of results off the pitch and their financial means off it. All three have had a change of coaching in the last 18 months, with Richie Murphy installed as Dan McFarland's replacement at Ulster just over a year ago, while the appointments of Stuart Lancaster and Clayton McMillan at Connacht and Munster respectively appear to be statements of intent "The expectation in Ireland now is that we have four provinces that are competitive and an Irish team is on top of the world," added the 53-year-old. "When I first came in, there was a lot of talk around: 'Leinster are too strong.' In a high-performance system, a team can never be too strong. Ultimately, the goal is to be the very, very best. They are very close to being in that position. "But the challenge that I believe we in the IRFU have and in my role, is to make the other three more competitive. "I think this year is a blip for a number of reasons that were around changes in coaching teams, player injuries, I think with our recruitment we're going to have stronger squads next year. With the coaches we've brought in we're going to have strong coaching teams next year. That's going to allow us to close the gap [between Leinster and the rest]. "How long will that take? I don't know. But, ultimately, if Leinster keep pushing the boundaries but the other provinces keep working towards closing it, we're going to have a stronger national team and stronger provinces." To help bridge the gap between Leinster and the rest, provinces will now be forced to contribute up to 40% of the wages for their centrally contracted players, which will free up an estimated €700,000 to be rerouted to Munster, Connacht and Ulster. Additionally, those provinces - and the women's game - will share the €1.2m that has been reserved from disbanding the men's Sevens programme. Humphreys has also rowed back on one of his big policies he announced last summer, that non-Irish qualified front rows would not be sanctioned for the foreseeable future. The policy was in response to the lack of front row talent being developed for the senior national side, although he has since allowed Leinster re-sign France veteran Rabah Slimani, and sanctioned Ulster's signing of Australia star Angus Bell (above). "It was a very deliberate strategy. We were all aware about where our front-row depth was coming from and at the time I firmly believed, that as things stood at that time 12 months ago, we needed to do something different. "What that statement did was encourage conversations with us, with the provinces: 'How are we going to make sure that we can get more players into the system?' So, you'll have seen some players move between provinces. That's what we wanted. "You'll have seen a number of players get game time, in discussions with the provinces, and you've seen the acceleration of Boyle and Clarkson. They've come through very quickly because they've been playing. "So, it's this conversation; if we can get those young players playing, they will get better. But I also think part of working in high performance there has to be flexibility. "You can take a position, but as things change, as they do on a week to week basis and on a month to month basis, you have to be flexible and go: 'Do you know what, 12 months ago that's what I genuinely believed.' Now, because of what we've seen happen within the provinces; player movement, player game time and the development of some of these young players, I am much less concerned about us not having any depth." One thing Humphreys (above) is showing no flexibility around, however, is the IRFU's policy of not considering players based outside Ireland for selection to the men's national team. The union have taken a hard stance against selecting players based in Britain or France ever since Johnny Sexton's time at Racing 92, and Humphreys said it's not going to be changed any time soon. "It's a question that we've talked about internally, we've discussed it internally but actually when you look at the Irish system, one of the great strengths is our player welfare, our player management. "What we want is, we want all our players playing into their early to mid-30s. We want to give them every chance and we believe what we have in each of our provinces, how we manage them throughout the course of the season, that gives them the best opportunity to have a much longer career than perhaps if you let them go and play in some of the other leagues. "So for me at the minute, that is not something that's up for discussion. "We've considered it. We believe that it's a fundamental strength of the Irish rugby system and believe it will continue to be so."
Irish Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
David Humphreys: ‘The biggest challenge is that one province is incredibly good at nearly everything'
David Nucifora's tenure as the IRFU high-performance manager definitely coincided with a hugely profitable era for the Irish rugby team . The more centralised focus under his watch emulated his time in Australia and, as the national team is the cash cow of Irish rugby, Nucifora was very much adhering to the IRFU 's policies. There was also unprecedented growth for the Ireland Sevens teams and, despite the lack of a strong working relationship, Leinster remained a force, but there's also no doubt that by the time Nucifora moved on the other three provinces had never been so far adrift. A year since he assumed Nucifora's remit, the current high-performance manager David Humphreys isn't shy about stating this remains the biggest threat to Irish rugby's future wellbeing. Hence, Humphreys and the union have decided to cull the men's Sevens programme and recalibrate their provincial contracting system, thereby freeing up sums of €1.2 million and €700,000 to be redistributed among Connacht, Munster and Ulster as well as the women's game. READ MORE To that end, Humphreys has also sought to work in greater collaboration with all four provinces, for his stated aim is to upgrade the other three rather than downgrade Leinster. 'I said it 12 months ago that the biggest challenge we've got is that we have one province that is incredibly good at nearly everything. That's a huge credit to Shane [Nolan, CEO], Leo [Cullen] and Guy [Easterby] for the work they've done but also how they interact with the IRFU. Certainly, over the time I've been here, they have been great to deal with. They've got a brilliant set-up.' 'When I first came in, there was a lot of talk around 'Leinster are too strong.' In a high-performance system, a team can never be too strong. Ultimately, the goal is to be the very, very best. They are very close to being in that position. 'But the challenge that I believe we in the IRFU have, and in my role, is to make the other three more competitive,' said Humprheys, following a URC campaign when Munster, Connacht and Ulster finished an alarming 25, 37 and 38 points respectively adrift of Leinster. Unforeseen and disruptive coaching reshuffles at Munster and Connacht, along with an injury crisis at Ulster, were contributory factors. 'It's felt like a lot of things that could go wrong have gone wrong,' said Humphreys. However, with Clayton MacMillan and Stuart Lancaster aboard in Munster and Connacht, he added: 'I have no doubt that next year will be much stronger and much better, across the provinces.' Even so, speaking to the media this week, Humphreys admitted that the challenge remains how to close the gap. Flexible recruitment by the provinces can be 'a short-term solution', but longer-term answers are more important. Clayton McMillan has been tasked with turning around Munster's fortunes from next season. Photograph:'I fundamentally believe, based on my experience, what we've seen working through the Irish system is that if we can support players below what is traditionally considered the pathway, going into the schools system and putting directors of rugby in there or supporting schools in a way they feel is necessary to improve their rugby programme, we can get a longer-term fix which will ultimately improve the provinces and support Ireland.' Culling the men's Sevens programme was, he said, 'a performance-based' rather than simply a financial decision. 'The budgets are not being cut,' stressed Humphreys. 'The money we're going to save from finishing the men's Sevens programme is going entirely into investing in the three provincial pathways and the women's game.' Humphreys admits to regrets over how the union's decision to cease the men's Sevens programme was 'rushed'. Although the remaining five months of the players' contracts were paid up, and their medical health insurance was extended, while some players have been placed on trial in the provinces, Humphreys admitted: 'Ultimately to be rushed the way it was, was uncomfortable for us all and probably didn't help the wider reaction, than if it had been done in a much more controlled manner.' After a golden era for the Ireland under-20s, Humphreys said the recent Six Nations wooden spoon was in part the product of a 'a perfect storm', primarily injuries, and is not necessarily an indicator of future professionals coming through that pathway. But this must also be a bigger concern for Humphreys than he is letting on, and Nathan Doak's role as the under-20s head coach will remain under scrutiny in advance of their opening game against Georgia in the Under-20 World Championships in Calvisano on Sunday and ensuing pool games against Italy and New Zealand. A year ago, Humphreys generated headlines when decreeing that the provinces would not be permitted to sign front-rowers. But, on foot of sanctioning Rabah Slimani's contract extension at Leinster, and Wallabies' prop Angus Bell joining Ulster on a short-term deal, he appears to have had a volte face. But Humphreys argued, not unreasonably, that his initial decree was part of 'a very deliberate strategy' designed to 'encourage conversations with the provinces', which has contributed to more game time for Jack Boyle and Thomas Clarkson, as well as Michael Milne and Lee Barron moving from Leinster to Munster. Leinster's Thomas Clarkson benefitting from game time against Bulls. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'I also think part of working in high performance is there has to be flexibility,' said Humphreys, while admitting he is now less concerned about Ireland's depth chart at prop. The delicate management of game minutes by the union and the provinces will continue to apply to both non-Irish and Irish-qualified players and hence will be affected by the depth in some positions. 'I actually think that's a good compromise to ensure competitiveness of the provincial teams but also ensuring the long-term development of Irish players.' In all of this, Humphreys stressed that the union will never move a player against their will. 'A sports career is a short career. I genuinely want our players to love their time as professional rugby players.' Previously, the IRFU have publicly declared some KPIs (key performance indicators) that can, admittedly, seem highly aspirational. But, while KPIs are part of their strategic plan, Humphreys is not inclined to make them public, perhaps for fear of him and the union being hoist by their own petard. Instead, he talks about the need to 'create winning teams' and to 'take small steps' and maintains that this season was 'a blip' after Connacht and Ulster failed to qualify for the URC play-offs and next season's Champions Cup, while Munster only did so on the last weekend. Yet when the draw is made for the 2025-26 Champions Cup next Tuesday, Ireland will only have two teams in the competition for the first time, and Humphreys's concern is palpable. 'Ultimately, if Leinster keep pushing the boundaries and the other provinces keep working towards closing it, we're going to have a stronger national team and stronger provinces. 'The timeline is almost irrelevant. The challenge is to make sure we are closing the gap, and from an IRFU perspective, that we're making the decisions which are right, to ensure that yes, the challenge is on the provinces to do what they need to do, but the challenge is on us as the governing body to make sure that we're supporting them to close that gap.'
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Mind games are part of Lions' folklore - and here we go again
Verbal jousting on British and Irish Lions tours is as much a part of the deal as the rugby itself - and the mind games started anew in recent coach Joe Schmidt (a Kiwi) on one side and Lions general manager of performance David Nucifora (an Australian) on the other. The psychological bunfights have described Sione Tuipulotu (Melbourne-born) and Bundee Aki (Auckland-born) as the "southern hemisphere centre partnership" in the Lions' opener against Argentina on Friday night. And they are. But was it an innocent remark or one with a bit of edge? Bet the house on the would know well that this is a touchy subject for some in Lionsland, most notably the great Willie John McBride, who is not on board with so many 'foreigners' playing for the Lions. In the squad there are two South African-born players, three born in Australia and four born in New had a little jibe of his own, all before the Lions plane took off for Perth. "I'm sure that lots of mind games will go on..." he told the Daily Telegraph, while mentioning the "mental spar" of Lions called Schmidt a "deep thinker" which he is. "Sometimes, if you think too deeply you'll confuse yourself," he added. "So, hopefully he gets confused overthinking things." Another grenade hard to pinpoint the precise moment when mind games began on Lions tours, but we have an impeccable witness in plumping for 1896 in South Walter Carey was on that tour. As well as being a rugby player he became the Bishop of Bloemfontein in later life, so if a man of the cloth says that the trash talking began in 1896 then who are we to argue?Carey wrote about South African psychological tricks, one of which centred around a man they would play in upcoming games. Wrote Carey: "We were told that the great Jack Orr, supposed to be a regular man-killer, was waiting to put us all in the hospital."Shots fired, as we say these days. Orr got injured before he could annihilate anybody so, mercifully, nobody ended up in the emergency this stuff, in many different forms, has been going on for 129 years. And here's more of it. Erasmus and the hour-long video of woes - South Africa 2021 A mind game, not against the Lions directly, but psychological pressure stacked on top of officials who were in line to referee the Boks in the second and third the Lions won the first Test in 2021, the Springbok director of rugby went to war on referee Nic Berry and his assistants with a stinging attack by way of used 26 clips that, to his eyes, showed injustice against the Boks on the part of Berry and his colleagues. On top of myriad claims of poor decision-making he also said that Berry had treated the two captains differently, stating that Bok captain, Siya Kolisi, wasn't given the same respect as Lions captain Alun Wyn was some truth in what he claimed and much victimhood nonsense. The whole thing was deeply unsavoury. Erasmus was later suspended for 12 months. Was it an effective mind game? Did he get in the heads of the officials in Tests two and three? Well, they won both of them, so it could be argued that way. Hansen tries to kill the Lions with kindness - New Zealand 2017 Mind games come in different shapes and sizes and in 2017 in New Zealand, the All Blacks coach came at it on multiple love-bombing the tourists and saying how great they were he attempted to put the burden of expectation on them. "I think this is the best British and Irish Lions team that we've seen come here for a long, long time," he all good mind games, there was a large degree of truth in it. The 2017 crop was an extremely strong then went for it: "It's going to be a very good side and they'll come with a lot of expectation which I think is going to be interesting to see how they cope with that... a lot more expectation than they've been used to, because people expect them to win."The 'kindness' didn't last, of course. The better the Lions looked the more Hansen spoke. He criticised their style of play, questioned their demanding schedule of games and wondered aloud about the potential mistake of not picking England's Dylan Hartley for the tour. Approaching the Test series he said: "We'll see if he [Gatland] has anything up his sleeve apart from his arm." That was pretty desperate and transparent - everybody could see that the Lions had plenty going for them. It was quite a performance from Hansen and quite a sensational series, which famously ended in a draw. Did Hansen's mind games knock the Lions off their stride? No. Andrews tries to get inside Johnson's head - South Africa 1997 The big Springbok lock had won the World Cup two years earlier, an achievement that appeared to confirm his legendary status in his own mind."I don't believe in false modesty," said the admittedly brilliant Andrews. "I can, without blushing, say that I'm the greatest forward in my position on the planet."He was then asked about Lions captain Martin Johnson. This is when Andrews began to lose the plot. "I've heard a lot about him," replied the Bok bruiser. "I just hope he can live up to what is written about him. He could get very demoralised if it doesn't work out."When the real stuff happened, Johnno didn't seem too bothered about Andrews in word or deed. He was immense in leading his team to a storied series win. So, yes, it did work out and, yes again, he did live up to what was written about him. Mind game fail. Farr-Jones sounds a warning after the Battle of Ballymore - Australia 1989 A decisive third Test is always going to have an incredible preamble but few of those occasions could hold a light to the final game of the 1989 Lions had made it 1-1 in the Battle of Ballymore, a Test marked by wholesale punch-ups and all-round fury. The Australia media launched rockets at the violent tourists in the wake of the game, with a lot of coach Bob Dwyer questioned some of the injuries his boys suffered - 'are you listening, third Test officials?' - while the Australian Rugby Union went into emergency session about the ugliness of it all. The Wallaby captain went a lot further, though."To me, basically, it's open warfare," said Farr-Jones before the final Test. "They've set the rules. They've set the standards. As far as I'm concerned, if the officials aren't going to control it, we're going to have to do something about it."You've been warned, was the crystal clear message. "I don't care if I get 100 stitches as long as we are on top on the scoreboard at the end," added the rallying cry to his own players, part message sent to the heart of the Lions, it didn't work. The Lions completed a historic comeback, with a little help from a bungling David Campese. Connor writes off the Lions before they arrive - New Zealand 1971 It was Barry John's tour but it began badly. Hungover from an almighty boozing session in Hong Kong, the Lions took a hellish flight to Brisbane for a warm-up game against Queensland. Exhausted from the high-living and heavy travelling, they played appallingly and lost."I wanted to lie down and die," said lock Gordon Brown. "We had no idea what time, day or place it was," remarked Gareth Edwards. "I wouldn't say I was playing, but I was on the field," said Connor was the Queensland coach. As a player he had won 12 caps for Australia and another 12 for the All Blacks. With the Lions now heading to New Zealand for the tour proper, Connor was euphoric."These Lions are hopeless," he trumpeted. "Undoubtedly the worst team ever to come here."Er... By the mid-point of the tour the Kiwi public were shocked at how mesmeric the Lions were and by the end-point, with a historic first and still only Lions series win on New Zealand soil, they were eulogising them as the greatest team they'd ever epic mind game fail was a reminder that judging the Lions on early performances is unwise. It was daft in 1971 and, after Friday night's loss to the Pumas, Andy Farrell will be hoping that it's just as daft more than a half a century later.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
WFH David Nucifora backed by Scottish Rugby chief despite lack of time in the country and not being around for the 'long term'
Alex Williamson has given his backing to David Nucifora as Scottish Rugby's performance director and says he has no problem with the Australian not being a more visible or high-profile figure. Nucifora will spend this summer as part of Andy Farrell's backroom ticket for the British and Irish Lions tour to his homeland. But Williamson says he has no issue with how Nucifora works as long as he continues to execute his plan to improve the Scottish Rugby player pathway. 'David was brought in to create a transformational change in our high performance and pathway environment and that's exactly what he's doing,' he said. 'David is right now continuing to do all the interviews for those senior roles, he's done every single one of them. He has designed the structure, he's embedding the structure and he's very hands-on. 'We always knew he was going on the Lions [tour] and there is some benefit for us in doing that. The Scotland team are hopefully only a few miles from Lions training camp as and when they need more players and I have no issue with where David is. 'But he was never going to be the guy who breathed all of the sort of warmth and energy into that in the long term, that's going to be someone else's job. And that's why that's a preoccupation for me is to get that role right (to find Nucifora's successor). 'I certainly have a mind's eye as to how we're going to go with that. I don't think David's role dissipates entirely but I think he becomes more of a sort of a mentor that makes sure that when there's a temptation to drift that we bring it back in. 'The clarity of what we're introducing - which is essentially splitting the national teams off from the pathway roles so that there's no crossover between the two, they don't dilute - that is the primary focus and the thing that will make the difference.' Glasgow head coach Franco Smith had expressed a concern that both the professional clubs would need to run with fewer players next season. Williamson replied: 'What we're trying to do is we're trying to intensify the investment in a slightly smaller group of players who propel more quickly and there is a question absolutely as to whether that has a short-term impact on performance. 'But when you really look at the number of high quality young players that are sitting in and around both those squads I think that we should feel confident that whilst they may need some sort of blooding in to first team rugby, we've got a ton of quality. 'We're essentially saying if there's a Scottish player who's good enough they'll play and I think we need to encourage that because if we don't do that I don't see how we can propagate enough players into the senior first 15 to make us more competitive than we currently have in the 31.' Mail Sport revealed last week that cuts were already underway to decimate the number of young players operating in academies and Williamson conceded some of that could have been handled better. 'I think that some of that, and I'm not saying all of it, but some of that was a bit clunky. There were definitely some communication issues there that just didn't land well. 'And as a consequence of that, what was intended to mean one thing actually meant something else, in terms of the closing down of the season actually was perceived to be a closing down of a program. 'But notwithstanding that, we are squeezing the number of players that are going to come through the pathway so that we really intensify our interventions from 16 upwards on those players we think have got every opportunity to play under 20s and then convert into the national team. And so we will see fewer players joining the pathway for sure. 'I think that if I were to say I was comfortable (with the process) it wouldn't be true because I think all of this is yet to bed in. We're literally at the structural stage so we are going to find the whole way through the process with bits that aren't quite working, that need some tweaking. 'And so I'm confident that there is a huge amount of energy, drive, passion and desire in the club game to pop these players out but the new articulation of what good looks like is obviously going to take a bit of time to bed in. 'Gav Scott and his team of regional development officers and so on are all engaged at a very micro level in how we're going to do this, so I'm confident we'll get there. But today, no, I'm sure we've got work to do. 'The work that Gav's doing for instance engaging the state schools in rugby and getting those state schools to connect into clubs is really important and so you'll actually see that he's putting a lot of the money that we give into the rugby development team into that initiative. 'And also this kind of club and schools cup - the best of the best if you like - is intended to make sure that we're not just focusing on just a small number of schools but we're looking at how we build our pathway. 'Of course, we're also going to lean on the places that have got really high performing environments themselves and that will be part of it, of course.'
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Townsend reveals talks with Murrayfield chiefs... but his own future hasn't been discussed
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has revealed he's been in talks with his Murrayfield superiors over the last few months — but insists his own future hasn't been on the agenda. Townsend's contract is due to expire after next year's Six Nations, with Glasgow Warriors boss Franco Smith strongly fancied to succeed him. Townsend, who will lead the squad to New Zealand and Fiji next month, sat down recently with Scottish Rugby's performance director David Nucifora and chief executive Alex Williamson — but he insists whether he will continue in charge beyond 2026 wasn't one of the talking points. At a time when Nucifora has been implementing massive cuts across the academy system and women's game as part of Scottish Rugby's new 'pathway system', Townsend has said that he doesn't expect there to be any movement on his own future until at least after the summer tour — and possibly even later in the year around the November Tests. Townsend said: 'I've had conversations with both David and Alex about the future but not necessarily my future. 'Just about where the team is going and reviewing the Six Nations. But we've also been looking at areas that we might have to strengthen or bring more players through. 'They're normal those conversations — but nothing about my own situation. 'My contract is up after the Six Nations. So, I'd imagine those conversations will start as we get closer to November or after the summer tour.' Murrayfield bosses came under fire this week after age-grade teams were officially informed that their number of academy players would be cut in half. That was followed by claims that the 38-player women's training squad would be trimmed to just 15 contracted members after this summer's Women's Rugby World Cup. Sources close to Scottish Rugby claim to have been left in the dark over the streamlined proposals, and some of those affected have accused Nucifora of showing 'disrespect' and a 'lack of care' while working in a largely remote capacity from his home in Australia. Meanwhile, Townsend and his staff have spent the last few months picking over the bones of another disappointing Six Nations campaign where Scotland won just twice to finish fourth. But he doesn't believe significant change is needed. He added: 'We've reflected a lot on our performance, we've had learnings. 'Pete Horne was out in New Zealand for three weeks and I was out in Australia for a week. 'So, it's a good period to not just focus on your own game but how you can add from other experiences. 'You split the Six Nations into the first two games and the last three games. 'The most relevant game is the last one you played, which I thought was a really positive performance in Paris. And it gives me a lot of optimism of what our team can do when we go up against a big side. 'There's a lot to build on from that game and the England game but there are other areas where we have to improve. 'We know we have to take our opportunities. But there's nothing when we reflected where we thought, 'We really need to change this', or 'This is a big part of the game that we're struggling with'. 'I think the forwards in particular showed what they can deliver this year. So that gives us a lot of encouragement for the future.'
