When the time comes, Nusiphora will play a key role in appointing his successor.
He is known for his ability to “get things done”, but he would use other words instead of things. He doesn’t compromise on anything.
When he first took charge in Dublin, he said it was about “seeing what was under the bonnet”. He fought a lot, working with locals to move players around the country and being the final decision-maker on overseas recruits.
Nothing substantial happened without Nucipora’s approval.
He is focused, ambitious and confrontational. He is responsible for reimagining Scotland’s desperately failing under-age coaching and player pathway system. He will be the go-to man for all recruitment in Glasgow and Edinburgh. He will be the national team manager.
His ultimate mission is to overhaul the entire organization, and his past performance suggests he will be patient in the job.
“High performance is all about tension,” he said. “If you don’t have tension, you don’t have performance, you’re not pushing and driving enough.”
His time in Ireland was full of success. Under his watch as a powerful and all-round coach, Ireland won two Grand Slams and were ranked world number one several times.
They beat the All Blacks for the first time, won a Test series in New Zealand for the first time, won a Test series in South Africa for the first time, won the Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slam three times, reached the World Junior Championship final and progressed in both the men’s and women’s sevens events.
The men’s team has qualified for the Olympics for the second consecutive year.
Nusifora says what he is most proud of during his time in Ireland was the change in mindset towards football.
“When I came here in 2014, I couldn’t believe Ireland had never beaten the All Blacks,” he said. “I couldn’t believe that 2016 (the year Ireland’s historic win over New Zealand in Chicago) was the start of the (mental) blocking of how good Ireland could be.”
Ireland have won five of their last nine games against the All Blacks.
“With the system in place (where we regularly win against the best nations), whether it’s the under-19 programme, whether it’s the sevens, everything we do, the young players coming into our programme have the expectation that they can be the best in the world and that they can beat anyone,” he said earlier this year.
“It takes confidence to realise how great they can be and to be proud of what we do in the Irish way.”
From the fall, Nucifora will be practicing his Scottish swagger. He may not be present all the time, but those who work with him will feel like he is watching and planning all day long.
