David Nucifora: Emerging Ireland tour didn't damage relationships with provinces

David Nucifora says the relationship between the IRFU and the four provinces hasn't been damaged by the recent Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa, but admits it caused "robust discussion" between the parties.

The three-game South African tour saw the provinces stripped of a combined 34 players for multiple rounds of the BKT United Rugby Championship earlier this season, while the short notice of the trip is also believed to have rankled the provincial coaches.

Nucifora, the IRFU's performance director, has defended the project, but admits there was some "friction" over the tour.

"Damage? I don't think it did any damage. I think what it did was create a lot of robust discussion," he said at a briefing at the Aviva Stadium yesterday.

"You've got to understand the pressure the coaches work under. They're tasked with a certain goal, and an outcome they are trying to achieve. We are as well."

The Australian (above) says it's likely there will be similar projects in the future, with he and the Irish coaching staff determined to establish their "Top 50" players in the long term, while also looking to get more minutes into young players, who could otherwise lose out due to the short URC calendar.

And although it's not always ideal for the provinces, he says he welcomes the "friction" that can arise.

"We're all one, but we have different drivers. The best high-performance model has friction. If you don't have friction, then you're not going to advance, evolve and get better. There's lots of friction that goes on. You guys hear about some of it. You don't hear about all of it. But it's healthy friction.

"It's friction, debate, robust debate. It's about what we see as good, and what we see as needs to be done. That happens all the time,